In silico characterization of GmSOS1 provides a comprehensive understanding for its role in soybean salt tolerance

Abstract

Plant SOS1 encodes plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter, which helps in the exclusion of Na+ and improves plant salt tolerance. However, detailed studies of SOS1 in the important oil crop, soybean (Glycine max), are still lacking. In the present study, we carried out a comprehensive in silico analysis of SOS1 in soybean. Referring to the analysis of physicochemical properties and structural characteristics, the GmSOS1 is an acidic protein with instability and hydrophobicity. Subcellular localization of GmSOS1 supports the presumption that GmSOS1 is a plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter. Post-translational modification site prediction indicates 4 amino acids that may be phosphorylated. Further, the protein-protein interaction network and co-functional network signify the potential role of GmSOS1 in salt stress tolerance. Although the interaction between GmSOS1 and GmHKT1 remains elusive, some of the intermediary signaling components of SOS pathway in soybean have been predicted. In addition, in silico expression analysis based on transcriptome datasets using publicly available database revealed that GmSOS1 was differentially expressed in tissues and different times. Due to the analysis of its regulation mechanism, we found transcription factors such as WRKY and ERF as well as three miRNAs can regulate the expression of GmSOS1. Phylogenetic analysis using the homologous amino acid sequence of SOS1s from 26 species was performed to study the conserved motifs among these SOS1 members. Overall, we provide an extensive analysis of the GmSOS1 and it promises the primary basis for the study in development and response to salt tolerance.