Bioinformatical and experimental analysis of AGO genes in response to salt stress
AGO family proteins play an important role in small RNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation.Analyzing the domain and evolution of AGO family proteins in diverse plant species,we revealed that the structural organization of AGOs is evolutionally conserved between different plant species.Based on the experimental data,some AGO genes were specifically expressed in various tissues in Arabidopsis.Sequence analysis showed that there are abiotic stress related cis-acting elements in the promotors of AGO genes,microarray and RT-PCR data also indicated the expressions of AGO2,AGO3 and AGO7 genes are induced under salt and other abiotic stress conditions.This is the first study to demonstrate the differential expression patterns of AGOs under salt stress in Arabidopsis.