scholarly journals Genome-Wide Analysis of RAV Transcription Factors and Functional Characterization of Anthocyanin-Biosynthesis-Related RAV Genes in Pear

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5567
Author(s):  
Jianlong Liu ◽  
Zhiwei Deng ◽  
Chenglin Liang ◽  
Hongwei Sun ◽  
Dingli Li ◽  
...  

Related to ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE3/VIVIPAROUS1 (ABI3/VP1, RAV), transcription factors (TFs) belonging to the APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSIVE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) TF family play critical roles in plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic and biotic stress. In this study, 11 novel RAV TFs were identified in pear (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd). A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the TFs clustered into three groups with 10 conserved motifs, some of which were group- or subgroup-specific, implying that they are important for the functions of the RAVs in these clades. RAVs in Pyrus and Malus were closely related, and the former showed a collinear relationship. Analysis of their expression patterns in different tissues and at various growth stages and their responses to abiotic and biotic stress suggested that PbRAV6 and PbRAV7 play important roles in drought stress and salt stress, respectively. We investigated the function of RAVs in pear peel coloration using two red pear varieties with different color patterns and applying data from transcriptome analyses. We found that PbRAV6 participates in the regulation of pericarp color. These findings provide insight into a new TF family in pear and a basis for further studies on the response to drought stress and fruit coloration in this commercially important crop.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Shi ◽  
Wei Jiao ◽  
Lan Yun ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Xiujuan Zhang ◽  
...  

Drought is a major limiting factor in foraging grass yield and quality. Medicago ruthenica (M. ruthenica) is a high-quality forage legume with drought resistance, cold tolerance, and strong adaptability. In this study, we integrated transcriptome, small RNA, and degradome sequencing in identifying drought response genes, microRNAs (miRNAs), and key miRNA-target pairs in M. ruthenica under drought and rewatering treatment conditions. A total of 3,905 genes and 50 miRNAs (45 conserved and 5 novel miRNAs) were significantly differentially expressed in three test conditions (CK: control, DS: plants under drought stress, and RW: plants rewatering after drought stress). The degradome sequencing (AllenScore < 4) analysis revealed that 104 miRNAs (11 novel and 93 conserved miRNAs) were identified with 263 target transcripts, forming 296 miRNA-target pairs in three libraries. There were 38 differentially expressed targets from 16 miRNAs in DS vs. CK, 31 from 11 miRNAs in DS vs. RW, and 6 from 3 miRNAs in RW vs. CK; 21, 18, and 3 miRNA-target gene pairs showed reverse expression patterns in DS vs. CK, DS vs. RW, and RW vs. CK comparison groups, respectively. These findings provide valuable information for further functional characterization of genes and miRNAs in response to abiotic stress, in general, and drought stress in M. ruthenica, and potentially contribute to drought resistance breeding of forage in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Yonghui Liu ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
Haijun Meng ◽  
Ying Yang ◽  
...  

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins are transcription factors (TFs) that have been shown to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in many plant species. However, the bHLH gene family in walnut (Juglans regia L.) has not yet been reported. In this study, 102 bHLH genes were identified in the walnut genome and were classified into 15 subfamilies according to sequence similarity and phylogenetic relationships. The gene structure, conserved domains, and chromosome location of the genes were analyzed by bioinformatic methods. Gene duplication analyses revealed that 42 JrbHLHs were involved in the expansion of the walnut bHLH gene family. We also characterized cis-regulatory elements of these genes and performed Gene Ontology enrichment analysis of gene functions, and examined protein-protein interactions. Four candidate genes (JrEGL1a, JrEGL1b, JrbHLHA1, and JrbHLHA2) were found to have high homology to genes encoding bHLH TFs involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in other plants. RNA sequencing revealed tissue- and developmental stage-specific expression profiles and distinct expression patterns of JrbHLHs according to phenotype (red vs. green leaves) and developmental stage in red walnut hybrid progeny, which were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. All four of the candidate JrbHLH proteins localized to the nucleus, consistent with a TF function. These results provide a basis for the functional characterization of bHLH genes and investigations on the molecular mechanisms of anthocyanin biosynthesis in red walnut.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 3111-3123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Xiang ◽  
Xiaofen Liu ◽  
Heng Li ◽  
Xueren Yin ◽  
Donald Grierson ◽  
...  

Abstract ‘Jimba’, a well-known white flowered chrysanthemum cultivar, occasionally and spontaneously produces red colored petals under natural cultivation, but there is little information about the molecular regulatory mechanism underlying this process. We analysed the expression patterns of 91 MYB transcription factors in ‘Jimba’ and ‘Turning red Jimba’ and identified an R3 MYB, CmMYB#7, whose expression was significantly decreased in ‘Turning red Jimba’ compared with ‘Jimba’, and confirmed it is a passive repressor of anthocyanin biosynthesis. CmMYB#7 competed with CmMYB6, which together with CmbHLH2 is an essential component of the anthocyanin activation complex, for interaction with CmbHLH2 through the bHLH binding site in the R3 MYB domain. This reduced binding of the CmMYB6–CmbHLH2 complex and inhibited its ability to activate CmDFR and CmUFGT promoters. Moreover, using transient expression assays we demonstrated that changes in the expression of CmMYB#7 accounted for alterations in anthocyanin content. Taken together, our findings illustrate that CmMYB#7 is a negative regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis in chrysanthemum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhua Chen ◽  
Xueqian Chen ◽  
Jing Han ◽  
Wenli Lu ◽  
Zhonghai Ren

Abstract Background Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable crop species. However, it is susceptible to various abiotic and biotic stresses. WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant growth and development, particularly in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, little is known about the expression pattern of WRKY genes under different stresses in cucumber. Results In the present study, an analysis of the new assembly of the cucumber genome (v3.0) allowed the identification of 61 cucumber WRKY genes. Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were performed using related species to investigate the evolution of the cucumber WRKY genes. The 61 CsWRKYs were classified into three main groups, within which the gene structure and motif compositions were conserved. Tissue expression profiles of the WRKY genes demonstrated that 24 CsWRKY genes showed constitutive expression (FPKM > 1 in all samples), and some WRKY genes showed organ-specific expression, suggesting that these WRKYs might be important for plant growth and organ development in cucumber. Importantly, analysis of the CsWRKY gene expression patterns revealed that five CsWRKY genes strongly responded to both salt and heat stresses, 12 genes were observed to be expressed in response to infection from downy mildew and powdery mildew, and three CsWRKY genes simultaneously responded to all treatments analysed. Some CsWRKY genes were observed to be induced/repressed at different times after abiotic or biotic stress treatment, demonstrating that cucumber WRKY genes might play different roles during different stress responses and that their expression patterns vary in response to stresses. Conclusions Sixty-one WRKY genes were identified in cucumber, and insight into their classification, evolution, and expression patterns was gained in this study. Responses to different abiotic and biotic stresses in cucumber were also investigated. Our results provide a better understanding of the function of CsWRKY genes in improving abiotic and biotic stress resistance in cucumber.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuiling Yuan ◽  
Chunjuan Li ◽  
Xiaodong Lu ◽  
Xiaobo Zhao ◽  
Caixia Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Peanut is one of the most important oil crop species worldwide. NAC transcription factor (TF) genes play important roles in the salt and drought stress responses of plants by activating or repressing target gene expression. However, little is known about NAC genes in peanut. Results We performed a genome-wide characterization of NAC genes from the diploid wild peanut species Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis, which included analyses of chromosomal locations, gene structures, conserved motifs, expression patterns, and cis-acting elements within their promoter regions. In total, 81 and 79 NAC genes were identified from A. duranensis and A. ipaensis genomes. Phylogenetic analysis of peanut NACs along with their Arabidopsis and rice counterparts categorized these proteins into 18 distinct subgroups. Fifty-one orthologous gene pairs were identified, and 46 orthologues were found to be highly syntenic on the chromosomes of both A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. Comparative RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)-based analysis revealed that the expression of 43 NAC genes was up- or downregulated under salt stress and under drought stress. Among these genes, the expression of 17 genes in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) was up- or downregulated under both stresses. Moreover, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR)-based analysis revealed that the expression of most of the randomly selected NAC genes tended to be consistent with the comparative RNA-seq results. Conclusion Our results facilitated the functional characterization of peanut NAC genes, and the genes involved in salt and drought stress responses identified in this study could be potential genes for peanut improvement.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanming Li ◽  
Kui Lin-Wang ◽  
Zhen Liu ◽  
Andrew C. Allan ◽  
Junlian Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: MYB transcription factors comprise one of the largest families in plant kingdom, which play a variety of functions in plant developmental processes and defence responses. However, it has not been systematically studied in Potato (Solanum tuberosum), which is the most important non-cereal crop world-wide. Results: In the present study, a total of 108 StR2R3-MYB transcription factors were identified and further phylogenetically classified into 28 subfamilies, as supported by highly conserved gene structures and motifs. Collinearity analysis showed that the segmental duplication events played a crucial role in the expansion of StR2R3-MYB gene family. Synteny analysis indicated that 37 and 13 StR2R3-MYB genes were orthologous to Arabidopsis and wheat, respectively, and these gene pairs have evolved under strong purifying selection. RNA-seq data from different tissues and abiotic stresses revealed tissue-preferential and abiotic stress-responsive StR2R3-MYB genes. We further analyzed StR2R3-MYB genes might be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and drought stress by using RNA-seq data of pigmented tetraploid potato cultivars and drought-sensitive and -tolerant tetraploid potato cultivars under drought stress, respectively. Moreover, EAR motifs were found in 21 StR2R3-MYB proteins and 446 pairs of proteins were predicted to interact with 21 EAR motif-containing StR2R3-MYB proteins by constructing the interaction network with medium confidence (0.4). Additionally, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of the 21 EAR motif-containing StR2R3-MYB proteins was performed to further investigate their functions. Conclusions: In this work, we systematically identified StR2R3-MYB genes by analyzing the potato genome sequence using a set of bioinformatics approaches. Genome-wide comparative analysis of StR2R3-MYB genes and their expression analysis identified members of this superfamily may be involved in tissue-specific development, anthocyanin biosynthesis and abiotic stress responses.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten van Zonneveld ◽  
Mohamed Rakha ◽  
Shin-yee Tan ◽  
Yu-yu Chou ◽  
Ching-huan Chang ◽  
...  

AbstractAlthough new varieties are urgently needed for climate-smart legume production, legume breeding lags behind with cereals and underutilizes wild relatives. This paper provides insights in patterns of abiotic and biotic stress resilience of legume crops and wild relatives to enhance the use and conservation of these genetic resources for climate-smart legume breeding. We focus onVigna, a pantropical genus with more than 88 taxa including important crops such as cowpea and mung bean. Sources of pest and disease resistance occur in more than 50 percent of theVignataxa, which were screened while sources of abiotic stress resilience occur in less than 20 percent of the taxa, which were screened. This difference suggests thatVignataxa co-evolve with pests and diseases while taxa are more conservative to adapt to climatic changes and salinization. Twenty-twoVignataxa are poorly conserved in genebanks or not at all. This germplasm is not available for legume breeding and requires urgent germplasm collecting before these taxa extirpate on farm and in the wild.Vignataxa, which tolerate heat and drought stress are rare compared with taxa, which escape these stresses or tolerate salinity. These rareVignataxa should be prioritized for conservation and screening for multifunctional traits of combined abiotic and biotic stress resilience. The high presence of salinity tolerance compared with drought stress tolerance, suggests thatVignataxa are good at developing salt-tolerant traits compared with drought-tolerant traits.Vignataxa are therefore of high value for legume production in areas that suffer from salinization.


Author(s):  
Piting Li ◽  
Zhe Chai ◽  
Pingping Lin ◽  
Chaohua Huang ◽  
Guoqiang Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSIVE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) transcription factors play important roles in plant growth, development, metabolism, as well as in biotic and abiotic stress responses. However, there are few studies concerning AP2/ERF genes in sugarcane, which is the most critical sugar and energy crop worldwide. Results: A total of 218 AP2/ERF genes were identified in the Saccharum spontaneum genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these genes could be divided into four groups, including 43 AP2s, 160 ERFs, and Dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) factors, 11 ABI3/VPs (RAV) and 4 Soloist genes. These genes were unevenly distributed on 32 chromosomes. Analysis of the structural of SsAP2/ERF genes showed that 91 SsAP2/ERFs lacked introns. Sugarcane and sorghum have a collinear relationship between 168 SsAP2/ERF genes and sorghum AP2/ERF genes that reflects their similarity. Multiple cis-regulatory elements (CREs) are present in the SsAP2/ERF promoter, and many are related to abiotic stresses, suggesting that SsAP2/ERF activity could contribute to the adaptation of sugarcane crops to environmental changes. The tissue-specific analysis showed spatiotemporal expression of SsAP2/ERF in the stems and leaves of sugarcane at different stages of development. In 10 sugarcane samples, 39 SsAP2/ERFs were not expressed at all, whereas 58 SsAP2/ERFs were expressed in all samples. Quantitative PCR experiments showed that SsERF52 expression was up-regulated under salt stress, but suppressed under drought stress. SsSoloist4 had the most considerable upregulation in response to treatment with the exogenous hormones ABA and GA. Within 3 hours of ABA or PEG6000 treatment, SsSoloist4 expression was up-regulated, indicating that this gene could play a role in ABA and GA-associated drought stress response mechanisms. Analysis of AP2/ERF gene expression patterns under different treatments indicated that SsAP2/ERF genes play an important role in drought and salt stress responses of S. spontaneum. Conclusions: In this study, a total of 218 members of the AP2 / ERF superfamily were identified in sugarcane, and their genetic structure, evolution characteristics, and expression patterns were studied and analyzed. The results of this study provide a foundation for future analyses to elucidate the importance of AP2/ERF transcription factors in the function and molecular breeding of sugarcane.


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