Exploration of Piezo Channels in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Piezo channels belong to an important class of cell membrane-bound, Ca2+-permeable, mechanosensitive channels consisting of a pore and multiple transmembrane helices. In plants, the functional aspects of Piezo channels have been less studied than other mechanosensitive channels. However, a few studies that have been carried out indicate the involvement of Piezo channels in stress response and developmental processes. In our analysis, we identified a total of three Piezo genes in the Triticum aestivum genome. The phylogenetic analysis revealed the monocot and dicot-specific clustering of Piezo proteins. The gene and protein structure analysis indicated their conserved architecture. The promoter region of each of the three Piezo genes contained light-, growth-and development-, hormone-, and stress-responsive cis-regulatory elements. Moreover, the differential expression of Piezo genes in tissue developmental stages and under abiotic and biotic stress conditions indicated their probable role in plant growth and development and various stresses. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis suggested that TaPiezo1-D might be involved in Ca2+ homeostasis. In addition, protein–protein interaction indicated their precise role in glucose, hormone and stress responses. The miRNA interaction analysis further suggested their participation in signaling cascades and biological processes. The present study will extend our understanding about Piezo channels in Ca2+ mediated signaling in plants under various stresses and provide a path for the functional validation of TaPiezo genes in future research.