Genome-Wide Identification of SnRK1 Catalytic α Subunit and FLZ Proteins in Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat. Highlights Their Potential Roles in Licorice Growth and Abiotic Stress Responses.

Sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase-1 (SnRK1) and its scaffolding proteins, FCS-like zinc finger proteins (FLZs), are well conserved in land plants and involved in various processes of plant growth and stress responses. Bat. is a widely used licorice species with strong abiotic stress resistance, in which terpenoids and flavonoids are the major bioactive components. Here, we identified 2 SnRK1 catalytic α subunit encoding genes (α and ) and 21 FLZ genes in . Polygenetic analysis showed that the 21 GiFLZs could be divided into three groups. A total of 10 representative GiFLZ proteins interact with GiSnRK1α1, and they display overlapped subcellular localization (mainly in the nucleus and the cytoplasm) when transiently expressed in leaf cells. Coinciding with the existence of various phytohormone-responsive and stress-responsive cis-regulatory elements in the α and gene promoters, are actively responsive to methyl jasmonic acid (MeJA) and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments, and several and α are regulated by drought and saline-alkaline stresses. Interestingly, α and 20 of 21 (except for ) show higher expression in the roots than in the leaves. These data provide comprehensive information on the SnRK1 catalytic α subunit and the FLZ proteins in licorice for future functional characterization.