Genome-wide analysis of soybean hypoxia inducible gene domain containing genes: a functional investigation of GmHIGD3

The response of Hypoxia Inducible Gene Domain (HIGD) proteins to hypoxia plays a crucial role in plant development. However, the research on this gene family in soybean has been lacking. In this study, we aimed to identify and comprehensively analyze soybean genes using the genome database. As a result, six genes were successfully identified, and their phylogeny, gene structures, and putative conserved motifs were analyzed in comparison to and rice. Collinearity analysis indicated that the gene family in soybean has expanded to some extent when compared to . Additionally, the cis-elements in the promoter regions of and the transcription factors potentially binding to these regions were identified. All genes showed specific responsiveness to submergence and hypoxic stresses. Expression profiling through quantitative real-time PCR revealed that these genes were significantly induced by PEG treatment in root tissue. Co-expressed genes of were primarily associated with oxidoreductase and dioxygenase activities, as well as peroxisome function. Notably, one of genes, GmHIGD3 was found to be predominantly localized in mitochondria, and its overexpression in led to a significantly reduction in catalase activity compared to wild-type plants. These results bring new insights into the functional role of GmHIGD in terms of subcellular localization and the regulation of oxidoreductase activity.