Genome-Wide Analysis of Wheat GATA Transcription Factor Genes Reveals Their Molecular Evolutionary Characteristics and Involvement in Salt and Drought Tolerance

GATA transcription factor genes participate in plant growth, development, morphogenesis, and stress response. In this study, we carried out a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of wheat GATA transcription factor genes to reveal their molecular evolutionary characteristics and involvement in salt and drought tolerance. In total, 79 TaGATA genes containing a conserved GATA domain were identified in the wheat genome, which were classified into four subfamilies. Collinear analysis indicated that fragment duplication plays an important role in the amplification of the wheat GATA gene family. Functional disproportionation analysis between subfamilies found that both type I and type II functional divergence simultaneously occurs in wheat GATA genes, which might result in functional differentiation of the TaGATA gene family. Transcriptional expression analysis showed that TaGATA genes generally have a high expression level in leaves and in response to drought and salt stresses. Overexpression of TaGATA62 and TaGATA73 genes significantly enhanced the drought and salt tolerance of yeast and Arabidopsis. Protein–protein docking indicated that TaGATAs can enhance drought and salt tolerance by interacting between the DNA-binding motif of GATA transcription factors and photomorphogenesis-related protein TaCOP9-5A. Our results provided a base for further understanding the molecular evolution and functional characterization of the plant GATA gene family in response to abiotic stresses.