Abstract:

【Objective】Aquaporins（AQPs）are crucial in physiological processes such as plant growth and development, water transport and stress response under abiotic stress in plants, and the present study was aimed to reveal the properties and functions of the potato StAQP family. 【Method】The potato's StAQP gene family was identified by genome-wide, and their gene structures, conserved motifs, cis-acting progenitors, chromosomal localization, and gene collinearity were analyzed using bioinformatics, and the gene expression patterns were verified by combining transcriptome data and RT-qPCR. 【Result】The 44 members of the potato StAQP gene family were distributed in five subfamilies: PIP, TIP, NIP, SIP and XIP. The gene structures and conserved motifs of the members in the same subfamily were basically the same, and the most of the members of the potato AQP family were distributed in the plasma membrane; the members of the potato StAQP family contained a large number of cis-acting progenitors related to light and stress response. The results of collinearity analysis showed that there were a large number of homologous gene pairs in AQP family between the potato and Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana attenuata, Solanum lycopersicu and Capsicum annuum. The results of transcriptome and RT-qPCR validation showed that the potato's StAQP family members were highly expressed under drought and salt stress, and that there was a difference in the expressions of different members under different stresses. Differences in the expression of the same genes under different stresses also existed, three of these genes, StAQP7, StAQP28 and StAQP31, were the key genes of the StAQP family in response to abiotic stresses. 【Conclusion】StAQPs genes play an important role in the growth and development of potato and in the response to abiotic stresses.

Key words: potato, aquaporins, bioinformatics, abiotic stress, expression analysis