Comprehensive Analysis of SnRK Gene Family in Cicer arietinum L

Background Sucrose non-fermentation-related protein kinase gene family or SnRK are Ser/Thr protein kinases which have important roles in various plant species in the field of tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. This family consists of three subfamilies SnRK1, SnRK2 and SnRK3. SnRK1 is widely studied in different species but SnRK2 and SnRK3 sub-families are related to plants and have less distribution. Results In this study, we have done a comprehensive analysis of the SnRK gene family in Cicer arietinum . We reached to new members of SnRK gene family in C. arietinum . A total of 14 CaSnRK ( Cicer arietinum SnRK) genes were identified in C. arietinum and annotated by comparing their sequence homology to Arabidopsis SnRK genes. Phylogenetic analysis classified these three sub-families into individual clades, both CaSnRK2 and CaSnRK3 were subdivided into two groups. Gene structural analysis revealed great variation in the number of introns in the CaSnRK3 sub-family, and motif composition is specific and highly conserved in each sub-family of CaSnRKs . Chromosome localization analysis showed a remarkable distribution of CaSnRK genes on 7 out of 8 chromosomes. Conclusions In this study, we presented a genome-wide identification of the CaSnRK family in Cicer arietinum , including a phylogenetic tree according to Arabidopsis BlastP, We identified 25 CaSnRK genes and divided them into three distinct subgroups.