Identification of CBF14 and NAC2 genes in Aegilops tauschii associated with resistance to freezing stress

Low temperature as one of the most important environmental factors limits the productivity of plants across the world. Aegilops, as a wild species of Poaceae, contains low temperature-responsive genes. In this study, we analyzed morphological (wilting, chlorosis, and recovery) and physiological (ion leakage) characteristics to identification of a cold-tolerant genotype. In this experiment, we introduced two transcription factors (TFs) in Aegilops species for the first time. Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that our nucleotide sequences have high similarity with CBF14 (C-repeat-binding factor) and NAC2 (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) in Triticum aestivum. Based on the physiological and morphological data, one genotype (Aladizgeh) was identified as the most resistant genotype which was selected for further gene expression analysis. The real-time PCR results indicated that the CBF14 gene was not expressed 3 h following cold treatment, but the highest expression was observed after 6, 12, and 24 h of cold treatment; however, a sudden decrease was observed in its expression after 30 h. The NAC2 gene also was not expressed 3 h after cold stress, but the highest expression was at 24 h and similar to the CBF14 gene; its expression suddenly decreased after 30 h. Our results indicated that this genotype can tolerate −4 °C for 3 h, but the CBF14 and NAC2 genes were activated when treated for longer durations. Expression of TFs studied in this experiment had decreased after 30 h, in which cell death seems to be the important reason.