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Background <p>Sunflower (<i>Helianthus annuus</i> L.), an important global oilseed crop, demonstrates remarkable tolerance to drought and salinity. Among transcription factors, dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) proteins are broadly distributed in plants and play pivotal roles in regulating abiotic stress responses.</p> Results <p>In this study, a total of 62 <i>DREB</i> genes were identified in sunflower and classified into five subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships, with 59 genes mapped to 16 chromosomes. Cis-acting element analysis indicated that <i>HaDREB</i> genes are primarily associated with stress responsiveness, phytohormone signaling, and light-regulated pathways, underscoring their functions in environmental adaptation and abiotic stress tolerance. Transcriptome analysis revealed that numerous <i>HaDREB</i> genes exhibited differential expression under drought, salinity, and cold stress, suggesting diverse and condition-specific regulatory roles. Furthermore, expression profiling across seed developmental stages demonstrated that most of the 31 detectable <i>HaDREB</i> genes were highly expressed during the middle and late stages of seed development, implying potential regulatory contributions to seed formation and maturation. Functional validation of <i>HaDREB1D</i> through overexpression in transgenic <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> confirmed its role in enhancing drought tolerance. Compared with wild-type plants, transgenic lines showed significantly higher survival rates and improved physiological performance after 14 days of drought treatment followed by 4 days of rewatering.</p> Conclusions <p>This study provides the first experimental evidence that <i>HaDREB1D</i> contributes to drought stress tolerance in sunflower, establishing a foundation for future functional investigations of <i>HaDREB</i> genes in abiotic stress adaptation.</p>

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Genome-wide analysis of the DREB gene family and functional characterization of HaDREB1D in the drought stress response in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月13日

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  • Fei Zhou,
  • Pengyuan Xie,
  • Jing Wang,
  • Botong Tong,
  • Chengqian Di,
  • Jiawei Cui,
  • Yan Liu,
  • Wenjun Wang

摘要

Background

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), an important global oilseed crop, demonstrates remarkable tolerance to drought and salinity. Among transcription factors, dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) proteins are broadly distributed in plants and play pivotal roles in regulating abiotic stress responses.

Results

In this study, a total of 62 DREB genes were identified in sunflower and classified into five subgroups based on phylogenetic relationships, with 59 genes mapped to 16 chromosomes. Cis-acting element analysis indicated that HaDREB genes are primarily associated with stress responsiveness, phytohormone signaling, and light-regulated pathways, underscoring their functions in environmental adaptation and abiotic stress tolerance. Transcriptome analysis revealed that numerous HaDREB genes exhibited differential expression under drought, salinity, and cold stress, suggesting diverse and condition-specific regulatory roles. Furthermore, expression profiling across seed developmental stages demonstrated that most of the 31 detectable HaDREB genes were highly expressed during the middle and late stages of seed development, implying potential regulatory contributions to seed formation and maturation. Functional validation of HaDREB1D through overexpression in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana confirmed its role in enhancing drought tolerance. Compared with wild-type plants, transgenic lines showed significantly higher survival rates and improved physiological performance after 14 days of drought treatment followed by 4 days of rewatering.

Conclusions

This study provides the first experimental evidence that HaDREB1D contributes to drought stress tolerance in sunflower, establishing a foundation for future functional investigations of HaDREB genes in abiotic stress adaptation.