Identification and expression analysis of bZIP transcription factors in Setaria italica in response to dehydration stress

Among the largest transcription factor families in plants, bZIPs are crucial for various developmental and physiological processes, particularly abiotic stress resistance. <i>Setaria italica</i> has become a model for understanding stress resistance mechanisms. In this study, we identified 90 bZIP transcription factors in the <i>Setaria italica</i> genome. <i>SibZIPs</i> were classified into 13 groups based on references to <i>Arabidopsis</i> bZIPs. Members in the same group shared similar motifs and gene structure pattern. In addition, gene duplication analysis indenfied 37 pairs of segmental duplicated genes and none tandem duplicated genes in <i>S. italica</i> suggesting segmental duplication contributed to the expansion of the <i>S. italica</i> bZIP gene family. Moreover, the number of <i>SibZIPs</i> genes (39) exhibiting higher expression in roots was significantly more than that in other organs. Twelve <i>SibZIP</i> genes were upregulated in response to dehydration stress. In conclusion, our study advances the current understanding of <i>SibZIP</i> genes and provide a number of candidates for functional analysis of drought tolerance in <i>S. italica</i>.