Drought Responses in Poaceae: Exploring the Core Components of the ABA Signaling Pathway in Setaria italica and Setaria viridis

Abstract

Drought severely impacts plant development and reproduction, reducing biomass and seed number, and altering flowering patterns. Drought-tolerant Setaria italica and Setaria viridis species have emerged as prominent model species for investigating water deficit responses in the Poaceae family, the most important source of food and biofuel biomass worldwide. In higher plants, abscisic acid (ABA) regulates environmental stress responses, and its signaling entails interactions between PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors and clade A PP2C phosphatases, which in turn modulate SnRK2 kinases via reversible phosphorylation to activate ABA-responsive genes. To compare the diversity of PYR/PYL/RCAR, PP2C, and SnRK2 between S. italica and S. viridis, and their involvement in water deficit responses, we examined gene and regulatory region structures, investigated orthology relationships, and analyzed their gene expression patterns under water stress via a meta-analysis approach. Results showed that coding and regulatory sequences of PYR/PYL/RCARs, PP2Cs, and SnRK2s are highly conserved between Setaria spp., allowing us to propose pairs of orthologous genes for all the loci identified. Phylogenetic relationships indicate which clades of Setaria spp. sequences are homologous to the functionally well-characterized Arabidopsis thaliana PYR/PYL/RCAR, PP2C, and SnRK2 genes. Gene expression analysis showed a general downregulation of PYL genes, contrasting with upregulation of PP2C genes, and variable expression modulation of SnRK2 genes under drought stress. This complex network implies that ABA core signaling is a diverse and multifaceted process. Through our analysis, we identified promising candidate genes for further functional characterization, with great potential as targets for drought resistance studies, ultimately leading to advances in Poaceae biology and crop-breeding strategies.