Genome-wide identification of AlkB homologous gene family and its expression patterns in rice under drought stress

RNA chemical modification plays an important role in plant growth and development, and N-6-methyladenosine (m(6)A), one of the most abundant, has been shown to affect RNA stability and the expression of related genes to regulate various biological processes. However, genome-wide identification of m(6)A modification in rice remains deficient. In this study, nine m(6)A demethylation ("eraser") genes, alpha ketoglutarate dependent dioxygenase homologs (ALKBHs), were bioinformatically analyzed in rice for gene structure, phylogeny, cis-elements, and predicted protein structures. OsALKBH were categorized into seven subfamilies, cis-element characterization reveals that the expression of OsALKBH genes could be potentially regulated by light as well as phytohormones like Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA). Moreover, the results of quantitative reverse transcription PCR demonstrated that the expression level of OsALKBH genes was up-regulated under drought stress, suggesting that OsALKBHs were involved in the response to drought. Collectively, our study identified the RNA m(6)A eraser candidates in rice and accentuated the probable roles of OsALKBH genes in responding to drought stress.