Genome wide identification and analysis of inositol tetrakisphosphate kinase (ITPK) gene family in Triticum aestivum L.
- 1Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
- 2Centre of Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
- 3Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Abstract
Inositol tetrakisphosphates kinase (ITPK) plays a vital role in regulating cellular responses to abiotic stress, plant hormone signaling and various other aspects of plant growth and development. Additionally, it is also involved in phosphorous, inositol phosphate metabolism and synthesize phytic acid which is the main phosphorous storage form in seeds. While essential for plant physiology, high phytic acid levels reduce the bioavailability of minerals such as Fe and Zn, which impact nutritional quality negatively. Despite its importance, the ITPK gene family remains largely unexplored in bread wheat. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive genome-wide analysis, including phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling, of the ITPK gene family in wheat. We systematically examined gene structure, chromosomal distribution, motif and domain conservation, promoter analysis, synteny analysis, protein modeling and protein-protein interaction of ITPKs. A total of 15 ITPK genes have been identified in wheat (T. aestivum). The TaITPK genes were distributed on chromosome number 1, 4, 5 and 7 in all the three genomes A, B and D. Comparative phylogenetic analysis resolved four major groups, with wheat ITPK sequences represented in Groups I, III, and IV, whereas Group II contained no wheat sequence. The conserved domain and motif analysis showed the presence of Ins134_P3_kin domain at N-terminus and CPase_L_D2 in C-terminus of protein. String based protein interaction analysis suggested ITPK genes interact with Inositol polyphosphate multi kinase (IPK1) and Inositol-pentakisphosphate 2 kinase (IPK2) which were also involve in synthesis of phyti acid. Furthermore, in-silico expression analysis of ITPK genes revealed their preferential tissue-specific and growth stage expression, especially after anthesis of wheat. Preliminary qRT-PCR profiling of selected TaITPK genes revealed treatment-dependent relative expression patterns under FeSO4 and ZnSO4 supplementation. The current study has identified 15 ITPK genes present in hexaploid wheat genome. Their evolutionary, structural, and expression analyses provide a foundation for further functional characterization of this gene family in wheat.
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BibTeX
@article{umar2026genome,
title = {{Genome wide identification and analysis of inositol tetrakisphosphate kinase (ITPK) gene family in Triticum aestivum L.}},
author = {Fatima Umar and Rizwana Maqbool and Muhammad Ahsan Khan and Bushra Sadia},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359528},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359528},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Genome wide identification and analysis of inositol tetrakisphosphate kinase (ITPK) gene family in Triticum aestivum L.
AU - Fatima Umar
AU - Rizwana Maqbool
AU - Muhammad Ahsan Khan
AU - Bushra Sadia
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359528
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359528
AB - Inositol tetrakisphosphates kinase (ITPK) plays a vital role in regulating cellular responses to abiotic stress, plant hormone signaling and various other aspects of plant growth and development. Additionally, it is also involved in phosphorous, inositol phosphate metabolism and synthesize phytic acid which is the main phosphorous storage form in seeds. While essential for plant physiology, high phytic acid levels reduce the bioavailability of minerals such as Fe and Zn, which impact nutritional quality negatively. Despite its importance, the ITPK gene family remains largely unexplored in bread wheat. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive genome-wide analysis, including phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling, of the ITPK gene family in wheat. We systematically examined gene structure, chromosomal distribution, motif and domain conservation, promoter analysis, synteny analysis, protein modeling and protein-protein interaction of ITPKs. A total of 15 ITPK genes have been identified in wheat (T. aestivum). The TaITPK genes were distributed on chromosome number 1, 4, 5 and 7 in all the three genomes A, B and D. Comparative phylogenetic analysis resolved four major groups, with wheat ITPK sequences represented in Groups I, III, and IV, whereas Group II contained no wheat sequence. The conserved domain and motif analysis showed the presence of Ins134_P3_kin domain at N-terminus and CPase_L_D2 in C-terminus of protein. String based protein interaction analysis suggested ITPK genes interact with Inositol polyphosphate multi kinase (IPK1) and Inositol-pentakisphosphate 2 kinase (IPK2) which were also involve in synthesis of phyti acid. Furthermore, in-silico expression analysis of ITPK genes revealed their preferential tissue-specific and growth stage expression, especially after anthesis of wheat. Preliminary qRT-PCR profiling of selected TaITPK genes revealed treatment-dependent relative expression patterns under FeSO4 and ZnSO4 supplementation. The current study has identified 15 ITPK genes present in hexaploid wheat genome. Their evolutionary, structural, and expression analyses provide a foundation for further functional characterization of this gene family in wheat.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -