Structural and functional evolution of an auxin efflux carrier PIN1 and its functional characterization in common wheat

Particularly PIN1, PIN protein-mediated rate-limiting auxin distribution plays a critical role in plant differentiation. Although well-characterized in Arabidopsis, little is known about the structural and functional relationship of the PIN1 gene among other plants. Here, we report that the gene structure remained conserved among bryophytes and angiosperms while the gene size varied by similar to 17%. Although the positions were conserved, highly variable intron phase suggests preference for specific regions in the gene sequence for independent events of intron insertion. Significant variation was observed across gene length for insertions and deletions that were mainly localized to the exonic regions flanking intron 1, possibly demarcating the sequences prone to deletions/duplications. The N and C-terminals showed a higher protein sequence similarity (similar to 80%) compared to the central hydrophilic loop (similar to 26%). In addition to the signature domains and motifs, we identified four novel uncharacterized motifs in the central divergent loop of PIN1 protein. Three different homo-loci, one each on chromosome groups 4, 6, and 7, were identified in wheat each showing dramatically different expression patterns during different plant developmental stages. Virus-induced gene silencing of the TaPIN1 gene resulted up to 26% reduction in plant height. Because of its direct role in controlling plant height along with a higher expression during stem elongation, the TaPIN1 gene can be manipulated to regulate plant height.