scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase in Cucurbitaceae and Expression Studies in Watermelon

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhua Wei ◽  
Ruimin Zhang ◽  
Xiaozhen Yang ◽  
Chunyu Zhu ◽  
Hao Li ◽  
...  

Both the calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) and CDPK-related kinases (CRKs) play numerous roles in plant growth, development, and stress response. Despite genome-wide identification of both families in Cucumis, comparative evolutionary and functional analysis of both CDPKs and CRKs in Cucurbitaceae remain unclear. In this study, we identified 128 CDPK and 56 CRK genes in total in six Cucurbitaceae species (C. lanatus, C. sativus, C. moschata, C. maxima, C. pepo, and L. siceraria). Dot plot analysis indicated that self-duplication of conserved domains contributed to the structural variations of two CDPKs (CpCDPK19 and CpCDPK27) in C. pepo. Using watermelon genome as reference, an integrated map containing 25 loci (16 CDPK and nine CRK loci) was obtained, 16 of which (12 CDPK and four CRK) were shared by all seven Cucurbitaceae species. Combined with exon-intron organizations, topological analyses indicated an ancient origination of groups CDPK IV and CRK. Moreover, the evolutionary scenario of seven modern Cucurbitaceae species could also be reflected on the phylogenetic trees. Expression patterns of ClCDPKs and ClCRKs were studied under different abiotic stresses. Some valuable genes were uncovered for future gene function exploration. For instance, both ClCDPK6 and its ortholog CsCDPK14 in cucumber could be induced by salinity, while ClCDPK6 and ClCDPK16, as well as their orthologs in Cucumis, maintained high expression levels in male flowers. Collectively, these results provide insights into the evolutionary history of two gene families in Cucurbitaceae, and indicate a subset of candidate genes for functional characterizations in the future.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian-Hao Zhu ◽  
Warwick Stiller ◽  
Philippe Moncuquet ◽  
Stuart Gordon ◽  
Yuman Yuan ◽  
...  

Abstract Fiber mutants are unique and valuable resources for understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms controlling initiation and development of cotton fibers that are extremely elongated single epidermal cells protruding from the seed coat of cottonseeds. In this study, we reported a new fuzzless-tufted cotton mutant (Gossypium hirsutum) and showed that fuzzless-tufted near-isogenic lines (NILs) had similar agronomic traits and a higher ginning efficiency compared to their recurrent parents with normal fuzzy seeds. Genetic analysis revealed that the mutant phenotype is determined by a single incomplete dominant locus, designated N5. The mutation was fine mapped to an approximately 250-kb interval containing 33 annotated genes using a combination of bulked segregant sequencing, SNP chip genotyping, and fine mapping. Comparative transcriptomic analysis using 0–6 days post-anthesis (dpa) ovules from NILs segregating for the phenotypes of fuzzless-tufted (mutant) and normal fuzzy cottonseeds (wild-type) uncovered candidate genes responsible for the mutant phenotype. It also revealed that the flanking region of the N5 locus is enriched with differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the mutant and wild-type. Several of those DEGs are members of the gene families with demonstrated roles in cell initiation and elongation, such as calcium-dependent protein kinase and expansin. The transcriptome landscape of the mutant was significantly reprogrammed in the 6 dpa ovules and, to a less extent, in the 0 dpa ovules, but not in the 2 and 4 dpa ovules. At both 0 and 6 dpa, the reprogrammed mutant transcriptome was mainly associated with cell wall modifications and transmembrane transportation, while transcription factor activity was significantly altered in the 6 dpa mutant ovules. These results imply a similar molecular basis for initiation of lint and fuzz fibers despite certain differences.


F1000Research ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Schreiber

Summary: Phylogenetic trees are widely used to represent the evolution of gene families. As the history of gene families can be complex (including lots of gene duplications), its visualisation can become a difficult task. A good/accurate visualisation of phylogenetic trees - especially on the web - allows easier understanding and interpretation of trees to help to reveal the mechanisms that shape the evolution of a specific set of gene/species. Here, I present treeWidget, a modular BioJS component to visualise phylogenetic trees on the web. Through its modularity, treeWidget can be easily customized to allow the display of sequence information, e.g. protein domains and alignment conservation patterns.Availability: http://github.com/biojs/biojs; http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7707


2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 1252-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bzik

Calcium ion signaling regulates central aspects of the biology controlling stage and life cycle transitions of apicomplexan parasites. In the current issue ofInfection and Immunity, Long and coworkers (S. Long, Q. Wang, and L. D. Sibley, Infect Immun 84:1262–1273, 2016,http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/IAI.01173-15) describe a powerful genetic system enabling reliable serial genetic dissection of a large gene family encoding novel calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) that provides new insights into the roles of CDPKs duringToxoplasma gondiiinfection.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Otto ◽  
Aude Gilabert ◽  
Thomas Crellen ◽  
Ulrike Böhme ◽  
Céline Arnathau ◽  
...  

AbstractPlasmodium falciparum, the most virulent agent of human malaria, shares a recent common ancestor with the gorilla parasite P. praefalciparum. Little is known about the other gorilla and chimpanzee-infecting species in the same (Laverania) subgenus as P. falciparum but none of them are capable of establishing repeated infection and transmission in humans. To elucidate underlying mechanisms and the evolutionary history of this subgenus, we have generated multiple genomes from all known Laverania species. The completeness of our dataset allows us to conclude that interspecific gene transfers as well as convergent evolution were important in the evolution of these species. Striking copy number and structural variations were observed within gene families and one, stevor shows a host specific sequence pattern. The complete genome sequence of the closest ancestor of P. falciparum enables us to estimate confidently for the first time the timing of the beginning of speciation to be 40,000-60,000 years ago followed by a population bottleneck around 4,000-6,000 years ago. Our data allow us also to search in detail for the features of P. falciparum that made it the only member of the Laverania able to infect and spread in humans.


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