Evolution of an intron-poor cluster of the CIPK gene family and expression in response to drought stress in soybean

Calcium ion is an intracellular messenger that plays a central role in signal transduction pathways. Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) signal network have shown different functions in the Ca(2+) signaling process. In this work, we identified the entire soybean (Glycine max) CIPK gene family, which comprised 52 genes and divided into four subgroups (I to IV) based on phylogeny. The gene structural analysis separated these 52 genes into an intron-rich clade and an intron-poor clade. Chromosomal location analysis resulted in the identification of 22 duplicated blocks and six tandem duplication events. Phylogenetic classification of 193 CIPK proteins from representative plant species suggested that the intron-poor clade of CIPKs originated in seed plants. Analysis of global gene expression patterns of soybean CIPK family revealed that most intron-poor soybean CIPK genes are drought-inducible; a finding that was further confirmed using qRT-PCR. Our study provides a foundation for further functional analysis to reveal the roles that CIPKs and more specifically the intron-poor clade play in drought tolerance in soybean.