Abstract
The myeloblastosis (MYB) transcript factors (TFs) are well-known for their significant roles in stress tolerance in rice. Although numerous types of MYB have been reported, however, the key genes (KGs) of the MYB family and their specific functions for abiotic and biotic stresses in rice remain largely unexplored. In this study, 183 putative OsMYB TFs randomly distributed in rice genomes were identified, and 12 uncloned KGs (OsMYB91, OsMYB103, OsMYB124, OsMYBR5, OsMYBR11, OsMYBR17, OsMYBR21, OsMYBR51, OsMYBR62, OsMYBR63, OsMYBR67, and OsMYBR72) were identified by analyzing CytoHubba computational algorithms, which were found randomly distributed on seven chromosomes. The phylogenetic studies classified these genes into three different subfamilies and found that to show the evolutionary links among these KG families. We also critically analyzed the gene structure, domain architecture, conserved motifs, phytohormonal cis-acting elements, and protein structure by conducting bioinformatics and molecular biology methods. Moreover, syntenic pair analysis revealed that the 12 KGs have multiple relationships between rice and other plant species. Expressology tree analysis indicated that the genes might have various functions under development and stress conditions. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that KGs are significantly associated with key biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components, particularly highlighting roles in gene expression regulation, transcription factor activity, and nuclear localization. The gene expression data analysis showed that the expression of the 12 KGs is abiotic stresses (drought, salt, cold, and heat) and different biotic stress-induced TFs, which are likely involved in stress response in rice. Relative gene expression results through qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the KGs are heat and salt-induced and play crucial roles in rice responses to heat and salt stress. Finally, we identified 12 KGs, and these KGs have potential roles for developing abiotic and biotic-tolerant rice varieties.