Genome wide identification and characterization of Dof transcription factor and its expression analysis under salinity stress in Avena sativa L.

The Dof transcription factor family is essential to several biological processes that occur in different plants, including regulating the growth and developmental stages of many plant tissues, such as root growth, hypocotyl elongation, plant morphogenesis, leaf development, and floral organ development. and environmental stress. But as of yet, Avena sativa's Dof family has not undergone a comprehensive analysis. In this study, 32 Dof genes (along with transcripts) in Avena sativa were identified from GrainGenes database and given named based on the chromosomal location. The conserved motifs, gene structures, gene duplication events, physiochemical properties, cis-acting elements, and expression patterns were further examined. These 32 AsDof members are classified into 8 subfamilies according to phylogenetic analysis. All proteins include Dof domains. All genes randomly dispersed throughout the 21 chromosomes with one tandem duplication and 10 pairs of segmental duplications; this may be the primary cause of the Dof gene family's expansion. Gene structure exposed intron number varying from zero to one and exons from one to two. Expression profiling identified 7 Avena Dof genes that respond to salt stress based on RNA-Sequence data available on the NCBI SRA database and validated through qRT-PCR. This study advances our knowledge of the genetic foundations of salinity tolerance and provides prospective towards genetic engineering to increase the resilience of oats to salt stress, supporting sustainable farming techniques.