RAC1 — Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare

Summary

HORVU.MOREX.R3.3HG0248920, designated HvRAC1 on barley chromosome 3H, encodes a small GTPase of the Rho family. The product is associated with multiple transferase activities, including protein geranylgeranyltransferase and farnesyltransferase activity, as well as GDP and GTPase binding. HvRAC1 is linked to small GTPase-mediated signal transduction, regulation of calcium-mediated signaling, actin cytoskeleton organization, and polarized growth, with localization to the pollen tube tip, cell projection, and the SCAR complex. In barley, the gene family has been connected to susceptibility to powdery mildew. HvRAC1 is also associated with a wide range of agronomic traits, including seed yield, plant dry weight, root hair length, lateral root number, cadmium and arsenic concentration, and responses to abiotic stress, phosphorus, and auxin. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to disease resistance, blast, blight, cell death, salt tolerance, and grain yield.