Dissection of valine-glutamine genes and their responses to drought stress in Arachis hypogaea cv. Tifrunner

Valine-glutamine sequences (VQs) interact with WRKY transcription factors (TFs), forming VQ-WRKY protein complexes crucial for plant development and response to environmental changes. Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a tetraploid from A. duranensis and A. ipaensis cross. The Arachis spp. WRKY TFs have been identified, but Arachis VQs are largely unknown. This study identified VQs in A. duranensis, A. ipaensis, A. monticola, A. hypogaea cv. Fuhuasheng, A. hypogaea cv. Shitouqi, and A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. The study analyzed the homologous relationships between VQs in these Arachis spp. The VQ drought-tolerant genes were detected and VQ-WRKY interactions were determined in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. The results showed that tetraploid Arachis spp. retained duplicated VQs, but lost ancestral VQs after allopolyploidization. The number of VQs in A. monticola, A. hypogaea cv. Fuhuasheng, and A. hypogaea cv. Shitouqi increased relative to their diploid ancestors. RNA-seq and quantitative real-time PCR experiments confirmed that three AhTVQs tolerate drought stress in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. However, evidence of VQ-WRKY interaction for drought stress response is lacking in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. Nevertheless, this study identified VQ-WRKY interactions, which possibly have multiple functions in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. Altogether, this study dissected Arachis VQs, providing insights into Arachis VQ evolution and drought function.