scholarly journals Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of KNOTTED-Like Homeobox (KNOX) Homologs in Garlic (Allium sativum L.) and Their Expression Profilings Responding to Exogenous Cytokinin and Gibberellin

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9237
Author(s):  
Siyu Zhang ◽  
Yupeng Pan ◽  
Chengchen Zhi ◽  
Yujie Zheng ◽  
Xi’ao Wang ◽  
...  

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important vegetable and is cultivated and consumed worldwide for its economic and medicinal values. Garlic cloves, the major reproductive and edible organs, are derived from the axillary meristems. KNOTTED-like homeobox (KNOX) proteins, such as SHOOT MERISTEM-LESS (STM), play important roles in axillary meristem formation and development. However, the KNOX proteins in garlic are still poorly known. Here, 10 AsKNOX genes, scattered on 5 of the 8 chromosomes, were genome-wide identified and characterized based on the newly released garlic genome. The typical conserved domains of KNOX proteins were owned by all these 10 AsKNOX homologs, which were divided into two Classes (Class I and Class II) based on the phylogenetic analysis. Prediction and verification of the subcellular localizations revealed the diverse subcellular localization of these 10 AsKNOX proteins. Cis-element prediction, tissue expression analysis, and expression profilings in responding to exogenous GA3 and 6-BA showed the potential involvement of AsKNOX genes in the gibberellin and cytokinin signaling pathways. Overall, the results of this work provided a better understanding of AsKNOX genes in garlic and laid an important foundation for their further functional studies.

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1740
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Rui Fan ◽  
Baoduo Wu ◽  
Xunzhi Ji ◽  
Chaoyun Hao

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), is dubbed “the King of Spices”. However, the lack of genic knowledge has limited the understanding of its physiological processes and hindered the development of its molecular breeding. The SBP-box gene family is an important family in plant development and integrates multiple physiological processes. Here, we made a genome-wide identification of the pepper SBP-box gene family to provide evolutionary and functional information about this conserved transcription factor. In total, 34 SBP genes were identified in pepper. All these pepper SBP genes were clustered into eight groups, and one pepper group was not found in Arabidopsis thaliana. Segment duplications played the most important role in the expansion process of pepper SBP genes, and all these duplications were subjected to purifying selection. Half of pepper SBP genes were found miR156 target sites, and 17 miR156s were predicted. The tissue expression analysis revealed the differential expression of pepper SBP genes. Eleven SBP genes were found in four co-expression networks, and the GO enrichment further provides a functional prediction for pepper SBP genes. This study lays a foundation for further studies of pepper and provides a valuable reference for functional mining of pepper SBP genes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuquan Rao ◽  
Yao Yao ◽  
Daniel E. Bauer

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered thousands of genetic variants that influence risk for human diseases and traits. Yet understanding the mechanisms by which these genetic variants, mainly noncoding, have an impact on associated diseases and traits remains a significant hurdle. In this review, we discuss emerging experimental approaches that are being applied for functional studies of causal variants and translational advances from GWAS findings to disease prevention and treatment. We highlight the use of genome editing technologies in GWAS functional studies to modify genomic sequences, with proof-of-principle examples. We discuss the challenges in interrogating causal variants, points for consideration in experimental design and interpretation of GWAS locus mechanisms, and the potential for novel therapeutic opportunities. With the accumulation of knowledge of functional genetics, therapeutic genome editing based on GWAS discoveries will become increasingly feasible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie W. Robinson ◽  
Richard M. Martin ◽  
Spiridon Tsavachidis ◽  
Amy E. Howell ◽  
Caroline L. Relton ◽  
...  

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have discovered 27 loci associated with glioma risk. Whether these loci are causally implicated in glioma risk, and how risk differs across tissues, has yet to be systematically explored. We integrated multi-tissue expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) and glioma GWAS data using a combined Mendelian randomisation (MR) and colocalisation approach. We investigated how genetically predicted gene expression affects risk across tissue type (brain, estimated effective n = 1194 and whole blood, n = 31,684) and glioma subtype (all glioma (7400 cases, 8257 controls) glioblastoma (GBM, 3112 cases) and non-GBM gliomas (2411 cases)). We also leveraged tissue-specific eQTLs collected from 13 brain tissues (n = 114 to 209). The MR and colocalisation results suggested that genetically predicted increased gene expression of 12 genes were associated with glioma, GBM and/or non-GBM risk, three of which are novel glioma susceptibility genes (RETREG2/FAM134A, FAM178B and MVB12B/FAM125B). The effect of gene expression appears to be relatively consistent across glioma subtype diagnoses. Examining how risk differed across 13 brain tissues highlighted five candidate tissues (cerebellum, cortex, and the putamen, nucleus accumbens and caudate basal ganglia) and four previously implicated genes (JAK1, STMN3, PICK1 and EGFR). These analyses identified robust causal evidence for 12 genes and glioma risk, three of which are novel. The correlation of MR estimates in brain and blood are consistently low which suggested that tissue specificity needs to be carefully considered for glioma. Our results have implicated genes yet to be associated with glioma susceptibility and provided insight into putatively causal pathways for glioma risk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2826
Author(s):  
Yan Tong ◽  
Hui Huang ◽  
YuHua Wang

Trihelix transcription factors play important roles in plant growth, development and various stress responses. In this study, we identified 32 trihelix family genes (DoGT) in the important Chinese medicinal plant Dendrobium officinale. These trihelix genes could be classified into five different subgroups. The gene structure and conserved functional domain of these trihelix genes were similar in the same subfamily but diverged between different subfamilies. Various stresses responsive cis-elements presented in the promoters of DoGT genes, suggesting that the trihelix genes might respond to the environmental stresses. Expressional changes of DoGT genes in three tissues and under cold treatment suggested that trihelix genes were involved in diverse functions during D. officinale development and cold tolerance. This study provides novel insights into the phylogenetic relationships and functions of the D. officinaletrihelix genes, which will aid future functional studies investigating the divergent roles of trihelix genes belonging to other species.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiling Niu ◽  
Tingting Zhao ◽  
Xiangyang Xu ◽  
Jingfu Li

Solanum lycopersicum, belonging to Solanaceae, is one of the commonly used model plants. The GRAS genes are transcriptional regulators, which play a significant role in plant growth and development, and the functions of several GRAS genes have been recognized, such as, axillary shoot meristem formation, radial root patterning, phytohormones (gibberellins) signal transduction, light signaling, and abiotic/biotic stress; however, only a few of these were identified and functionally characterized. In this study, a gene family was analyzed comprehensively with respect to phylogeny, gene structure, chromosomal localization, and expression pattern; the 54 GRAS members were screened from tomato by bioinformatics for the first time. The GRAS genes among tomato, Arabidopsis, rice, and grapevine were rebuilt to form a phylogenomic tree, which was divided into ten groups according to the previous classification of Arabidopsis and rice. A multiple sequence alignment exhibited the typical GRAS domain and conserved motifs similar to other gene families. Both the segmental and tandem duplications contributed significantly to the expansion and evolution of the GRAS gene family in tomato; the expression patterns across a variety of tissues and biotic conditions revealed potentially different functions of GRAS genes in tomato development and stress responses. Altogether, this study provides valuable information and robust candidate genes for future functional analysis for improving the resistance of tomato growth.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiping Zhu ◽  
Yangdong Wang ◽  
Hengfu Yin ◽  
Ming Gao ◽  
Qiyan Zhang ◽  
...  

Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs) make up the largest group of RLKs in plants and play important roles in many key biological processes such as pathogen response and signal transduction. To date, most studies on LRR-RLKs have been conducted on model plants. Here, we identified 236 and 230LRR-RLKsin two industrial oil-producing trees:Vernicia fordiiandVernicia montana, respectively. Sequence alignment analyses showed that the homology of the RLK domain (23.81%) was greater than that of the LRR domain (9.51%) among theVf/VmLRR-RLKs. The conserved motif of the LRR domain inVf/VmLRR-RLKsmatched well the known plant LRR consensus sequence but differed at the third last amino acid (W or L). Phylogenetic analysis revealed thatVf/VmLRR-RLKswere grouped into 16 subclades. We characterized the expression profiles ofVf/VmLRR-RLKsin various tissue types including root, leaf, petal, and kernel. Further investigation revealed thatVf/VmLRR-RLKorthologous genes mainly showed similar expression patterns in response to tree wilt disease, except 4 pairs ofVf/VmLRR-RLKsthat showed opposite expression trends. These results represent an extensive evaluation ofLRR-RLKsin two industrial oil trees and will be useful for further functional studies on these proteins.


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