番茄WOX转录因子家族的鉴定及其进化、表达分析

WUSCHEL相关的同源异型盒(WUSCHEL-related homeobox,WOX)是一类植物特异的转录因子家族,具有调控植物干细胞分裂分化动态平衡等重要功能。本研究利用番茄(Solanum lycopersicum)基因组数据,通过建立隐马尔科夫模型并进行检索,鉴定了番茄10个WOX转录因子家族成员。多序列比对发现,番茄WOX转录因子家族成员具有高度保守的同源异型结构域;以拟南芥WOX转录因子家族成员序列为参照,通过邻接法、极大似然法、贝叶斯法重建了系统发育树,三者呈现出类似的拓扑结构,番茄和拟南芥WOX转录因子家族共25个成员被分为3个进化支(Clade)和9个亚家族(Subgroup);利用MEME和GSDS对WOX转录因子家族成员的蛋白保守结构域和基因结构进行了分析,同一亚家族内的WOX转录因子家族成员的保守结构域的种类、组织形式以及基因结构具有高度的一致性;利用Perl和Orthomcl对家族成员的染色体定位和同源性关系进行分析,结果表明串联重复的SlWOX3a和SlWOX3b可能来源于一次复制事件;利用番茄转录组数据和qRT-PCR进行表达分析,结果显示家族成员在不同组织中的表达存在差异,暗示了WOX家族的不同成员在功能上可能具有多样性。本研究对番茄WOX转录因子家族成员进行GO(Gene Ontology)注释和比较分析,结果表明该家族成员作为转录因子,可能在组织器官发育、细胞间通讯等过程中发挥作用。     

谷子Trithlix转录因子鉴定与生物信息学分析

Trihelix转录因子家族在植物生长发育、生物胁迫和非生物胁迫等方面具有重要的作用,但是目前关于谷子Trihelix转录因子家族研究鲜见报道。本试验共鉴定到34个谷子转录因子,对其进行染色体定位、系统进化树、保守基序、基因结构和不同组织的表达分析发现,该家族成员均含有高度保守的Trihelix结构域,分为5个亚族,同一亚族含有相同的保守基序,同一亚族含有相似的基因结构,在不同的亚族中,组织表达模式不同。本研究初步明确了谷子Trihelix转录因子家族成员进化关系和结构特点,为进一步研究谷子Trihelix转录因子家族的系统发育以及生物学功能奠定了基础,为谷子的分子育种提供科学依据。     

番茄PPR基因家族的鉴定与生物信息学分析

PPR(Pentatricopeptide repeats)基因家族在植物中广泛存在, 其在植物生长发育过程中至关重要。文章采用生物信息学方法, 利用Pfam已鉴定的PPR保守结构域序列检索番茄(Solanum lycopersicum L.)基因组计划注释的蛋白序列, 最终确定了番茄中可能存在的471个PPR编码基因; 根据拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana L.)中鉴定的各个结构域的特点对其进行了蛋白结构分析、分类和保守序列分析, 并对番茄PPR基因家族进行了系统进化树构建、染色体定位、亚细胞定位预测、表达和GO分析等。结果表明：番茄PPR基因家族分为P和PLS两个亚家族, 各占序列数目的一半, PLS亚家族又分为PLS、E、E+和DYW四类, 且在进化树中形成不同的分支; 各个结构域在植物中非常保守; PPR基因家族分布在番茄12条染色体上, 且多数无内含子结构; 大部分PPR蛋白具有线粒体或叶绿体定位序列, GO分析表明PPR蛋白参与RNA相关的生物学过程     

水稻Trihelix转录因子家族全基因组分析及功能预测

Trihelix转录因子家族在植物生长发育以及响应逆境胁迫等方面发挥着重要作用,但目前基于水稻全基因组水平鉴定和分析该基因家族的研究尚未见相关报道。本文利用生物信息学方法在水稻基因组数据库中鉴定到Trihelix家族成员31个,序列聚类和功能结构域分析发现该家族均含有高度保守的、特征性的Trihelix结构域;根据亲缘关系远近和结构域特点,将其分为5个亚家族(Ⅰ~Ⅴ)。通过与拟南芥、二穗短炳草和高粱中Trihelix家族的聚类分析发现,这4个物种中Trihelix家族的分类相一致,但每个物种均含有不同亚家族的成员,表明该基因家族的分化早于物种的分化。基于MEME程序分析水稻Trihelix转录因子家族的保守基序与聚类分析结果具有较高的一致性。染色体区段复制分析表明,部分Trihelix家族成员在水稻以及水稻与其他物种之间存在种内和种间的染色体区段复制;生物芯片数据分析发现,Trihelix基因家族在水稻不同组织中、以及对6种不同植物激素的响应呈现多样化的表达谱。采用RiceFREND在线数据库分析发现,水稻Trihelix转录因子家族的20个成员与其他蛋白存在互作关系。本研究结果初步明确了水稻Trihelix转录因子家族的进化特点、染色体分布、染色体区段复制关系、组织表达、激素应答,以及该家族蛋白与其他蛋白质的互作情况,为进一步揭示Trihelix转录因子家族的分子进化规律和生物学功能奠定了基础。     

烟草C2H2锌指蛋白转录因子家族成员的鉴定与表达分析

C2H2锌指蛋白转录因子家族在真核生物中具有重要的生物学功能,广泛参与植物叶的发生、花器官的调控、侧枝的形成及逆境胁迫等生命过程。植物C2H2锌指蛋白不仅结合DNA和RNA,而且与蛋白质之间相互作用。本研究利用普通烟草(Nicotiana tabacum)基因组数据库,运用Blastp比对,结合Pfam和SMART分析,鉴定了118条普通烟草C2H2锌指蛋白家族成员;对烟草C2H2锌指蛋白家族进行了进化树分析、结构域分析、物理化学性质分析、染色体定位、基因结构分析、三维结构分析及组织表达分析等。结果表明：不同成员的氨基酸长度差异较大;系统进化及结构域分析显示,所有C2H2家族成员可以被分为5个亚家族,同一亚家族成员之间在结构域和理化性质上呈现较高一致性;每个成员都含有C2H2结构域,在数量上存在较大差异;将所有基因家族成员定位在22条染色体上;组织表达分析表明,每个C2H2亚家族都有成员在不同组织中表达,在叶及根中有些基因的表达量较高。     

番茄TCP基因家族全基因组鉴定和分析

TCP基因家族是与植物有关的转录因子家族,它对植物的生长和发育有重要作用。为了揭示番茄TCP基因家族的功能,本研究利用全基因组信息鉴定番茄TCP转录因子家族。结果表明,番茄TCP基因家族共有36个成员;进化分析表明,TCP基因家族可分为2组:ClassⅠ和ClassⅡ,ClassⅡ又可以分成CIN和CYC/TB1两个小组;基因结构分析表明,家族成员有1~3个外显子构成;序列分析表明这些家族成员都含有高度保守的b HLH结构域,有的还含有R结构域。这些结果有助于今后揭示番茄TCP基因家族成员的功能。     

猕猴桃Aux/IAA基因家族的鉴定与表达

在猕猴桃全基因组范围内鉴定生长素/吲哚乙酸(Aux/IAA)基因家族,利用生物信息学方法分析其理化性质、结构特征及共线性关系等,并采用实时荧光定量PCR分析Aux/IAA家族基因在不同组织及部分家族成员在外源激素胁迫下的表达模式,为揭示该家族基因在猕猴桃发育过程中的功能奠定基础。结果表明:(1)猕猴桃基因组含有50个Aux/IAA家族基因,编码氨基酸序列介于125~391 aa,蛋白分子量介于14.06~42.48 kD,等电点介于4.33~9.51;Aux/IAA家族基因不均匀的分布于21条不同染色体上,且分布最多的23号染色体上含有11个基因;聚类分析将其分为9个亚族。(2)大部分Aux/IAA家族基因含有4个不同的保守结构域,多数成员均含有Ⅱ、Ⅲ和Ⅳ结构域,部分基因缺失Ⅰ结构域;基因结构分析表明该家族基因包含1~5个内含子;基因组内序列分析发现该家族基因含有23对重复基因对,包括20对片段重复和3对串联重复;与拟南芥的组间共线性分析发现有36个基因与拟南芥基因存在共线性关系。(3)亚细胞预测显示该家族基因大部分定位于细胞核;启动子顺式作用元件分析发现该家族启动子包含光、激素以及响应生物与非生物胁迫等相关作用元件。(4)实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,Aux/IAA家族基因有组织表达特异性,各成员对外源激素响应的时间和强度不同,绝大多数基因在激素处理的早期下调表达,而AcIAA1a和AcIAA18a相对表达量呈现上调表达,响应模式的差异也说明了Aux/IAA家族各个基因在调控猕猴桃发育过程中功能上的差异性。研究认为,猕猴桃Aux/IAA家族基因具有功能多样性,且存在基因复制现象的基因部分表现出组织表达模式相似性,推测在功能上可能有冗余,在进化过程中该基因可能受到环境胁迫而导致序列的缺失或基因复制。     

番茄中Rpi-blb2同源基因的挖掘与鉴定

番茄晚疫病是番茄生产中的主要病害之一,经常会造成较大的经济损失。晚疫病生理小种的变异和进化常会导致番茄品种原有的遗传抗性丧失,因此不断挖掘新的抗性基因,改良番茄晚疫病抗性是番茄抗病育种的长期任务。该研究采用BLAST同源比对的方法,以马铃薯野生近缘种的晚疫病抗性蛋白序列Rpi-blb2为种子序列,在NCBI蛋白质序列数据库中检索得到11条番茄蛋白质序列,这些序列与种子序列相似性为78%~83%,属于番茄疾病抗性蛋白家族,并对该家族成员进行了基因结构、基因定位、序列保守结构域和进化关系等分析。结果表明:该家族中10条序列分布在第Ⅵ条染色体上,1条分布在第Ⅴ染色体上;6号染色体上的10序列呈现2个抗病基因簇分布,在染色体上分别占据2个和3个基因位点;10条同源蛋白是Rpi-blb2的共同垂直同源蛋白,但不具有平行同源关系,大多数成员定位于细胞质。按照蛋白质保守结构域和基因定位的不同可分为三类,第一类共4条系列,包含有DUF3542和NB-ARC两个保守结构域特征序列;第二类共6条序列,与马铃薯Rpi-blb2蛋白一样,仅包含NB-ARC保守结构域特征序列,在这2类蛋白序列的NB-ARC结构域均位于序列中部;第三类(仅包含XP_004239406.1)虽然也具有与第一类蛋白相似的DUF3542和NB-ARC结构域,但在结构域两端的非保守区序列较短,且位于5号染色体上,因此将其单独归为1类。前两类蛋白成员相应的基因具有1~2个内含子,第3类蛋白不含内含子。该研究结果为利用生物技术选育番茄抗性品种提供了理论基础。     

苹果DREB转录因子家族全基因组鉴定与分析

DREB转录因子属于AP2/ERF转录因子家族,能够与DRE/CRT顺式作用元件特异性结合,调控与逆境应答基因的表达,因而在植物应对低温、干旱、高盐等逆境胁迫中发挥重要作用。该研究利用苹果全基因组数据,通过生物信息学手段鉴定苹果DREB转录因子家族成员,并分析DREB转录因子家族保守域特点与功能及表达情况。结果表明:从苹果全基因组中共鉴定出60个DREB转录因子家族成员,与拟南芥和水稻相比基本一致,通过引入拟南芥DREB基因进行系统发生分析,进一步可以将其细分为6个亚组;结构域和保守元件分析表明,DREB基因家族含有一个AP2保守结构域;染色体定位表明,苹果DREB基因分布于11条染色体上,部分基因存在串联复制现象;基因结构分析显示,该亚家族基因不含内含子。利用同源拟南芥RNA-Seq数据分析结果表明,DREB转录因子家族对低温、ABA调节等非生物胁迫具有调控作用,同时在DREB亚家族中每个亚组响应不同的非生物胁迫;通过分析DREB基因在不同组织中的表达情况,结果显示DREB基因在植物根部中的表达量最强,其次是叶。     

Genome Wide Identification of C2H2-Type Zinc Finger Proteins of Tomato and Expression Analysis Under Different Abiotic Stresses

In plants, C2H2-type zinc finger proteins play important roles in multiple processes, including plant growth and development, as well as biotic and abiotic responses. In the present study, based on the presence of the C2H2 domain (CX2~4CX3FX5LX2HX3~5H), 112 C2H2-type zinc finger proteins were predicted in tomato. Through gene and protein structures analyses and phylogenetic analysis, the 112 C2H2-type zinc finger proteins were divided into five subfamilies. Members of the same subfamily shared similarities in gene and protein structures, while members of different subfamilies contained different numbers of the C2H2 domain. The tissue expression pattern analysis showed that 24 C2H2-type zinc finger proteins are constitutively expressed in all tissues, indicating that they may play important roles in the growth and development of all tissues. In addition, under chilling (4 °C), heat (42 °C), high salinity (200 Mm NaCl), and osmotic (20% PEG) stresses, members of C2H2-type zinc finger family were induced to varying degrees, which suggested that these genes were involved in multiple abiotic stress responses. This study will provide theoretical basis for further research of C2H2-type zinc finger proteins in tomato.

     

In silico characterization of the INO80 subfamily of SWI2/SNF2 chromatin remodeling proteins

Proteins belonging to SNF2 family of DNA dependent ATPases are important members of the chromatin remodeling complexes that are implicated in epigenetic control of gene expression. The yeast Ino80, the catalytic ATPase subunit of the INO80 complex, is the most recently described member of the SNF2 family. Outside the conserved ATPase domain, it has very little similarity with other well-characterized SNF2 proteins hence it is believed to represent a new subfamily. We have identified new members of this subfamily in different organisms and have detected characteristic features of this subfamily. Using various data mining tools we have identified a new, previously undetected domain in all members of this subfamily. This domain designated DBINO is characteristic of the INO80 subfamily and is predicted to have DNA-binding function. The presence of this domain in all the INO80 subfamily proteins from different organisms suggests its conserved function in evolution.     

The neurexin superfamily of Caenorhabditis elegans

The neurexin superfamily is a group of transmembrane molecules mediating cell-cell contacts and generating specialized membranous domains in polarized epithelial and nerves cells. We describe here the domain organization and expression of the entire, core neurexin superfamily in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is composed of three family members. One of the superfamily members, nrx-1, is an ortholog of vertebrate neurexin, the other two, itx-1 and nlr-1, are orthologs of the Caspr subfamily of neurexin-like genes. Based on reporter gene analysis, we find that nrx-1 is exclusively expressed in most if not all cells of the nervous system and localizes to presynaptic specializations. itx-1 and nrx-1 reporter genes are expressed in non-overlapping patterns within and outside the nervous system. ITX-1 protein co-localizes with β-G-spectrin to a subapical domain within intestinal cells. These studies provide a starting point for further functional analysis of this family of proteins.     

Homology modeling provides insights into the binding mode of the PAAD/DAPIN/pyrin domain,a fourth member of the CARD/DD/DED domain family

The PAAD/DAPIN/pyrin domain is the fourth member of the death domain superfamily, but unlike other members of this family, it is involved not only in apoptosis but also in innate immunity and several other processes. We have identified 40 PAAD domain-containing proteins by extensively searching the genomes of higher eukaryotes and viruses. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that there are five categories of PAAD domains that correlate with the domain architecture of the entire proteins. Homology models built on CARD and DD structures identified functionally important residues by studying conservation patterns on the surface of the models. Surface maps of each subfamily show different distributions of these residues, suggesting that domains from different subfamilies do not interact with each other, forming independent regulatory networks. Helix3 of PAAD is predicted to be critical for dimerization. Multiple alignment analysis and modeling suggest that it may be partly disordered, following a new paradigm for interaction proteins that are stabilized by protein-protein interactions.     

Identification and characterization of three members of a novel subclass of protocadherins

Protocadherins are members of a nonclassic subfamily of calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecules in the cadherin superfamily. Although the extracellular domains have several common structural features, there is no extensive homology between the cytoplasmic domains of protocadherin subfamily members. We have identified a new subclass of protocadherins based on a shared and highly conserved 17-amino-acid cytoplasmic motif. The subclass currently consists of 18 protocadherin members. Two of these, PCDH18 and PCDH19, are novel protocadherins and a third is the human orthologue of mouse Pcdh10. All three genes encode six ectodomain repeats with cadherin-like attributes and, consistent with the structural characteristics of protocadherins, a large first exon encodes the extracellular domain of each gene.     

A rice <Emphasis Type="Italic">YABBY</Emphasis> gene, <Emphasis Type="Italic">OsYABBY4</Emphasis>, preferentially expresses in developing vascular tissue

Developmental gene families have diversified during land plant evolution. The primary role of YABBY gene family is promoting abaxial fate in model eudicot, Arabidopsis thaliana. However recent results suggest that roles of YABBY genes are not conserved in the angiosperms. In this paper, a rice YABBY gene was isolated, and its expression patterns were analyzed in detail. Sequence characterization and phylogenetic analyses showed the gene is OsYABBY4, which is group-classified into FIL/YAB3 subfamily. Beta-glucuronidase reporter assay and in situ analysis consistently revealed that OsYABBY4 was expressed in the meristems and developing vascular tissue of rice, predominantly in the phloem tissue, suggesting that the function of the rice gene is different from those of its counterparts in eudicots. OsYABBY4 may have been recruited to regulate the development of vasculature in rice. However, transgenic Arabidopsis plants ectopically expressing OsYABBY4 behaved very like those over-expressing FIL or YAB3 with abaxialized lateral organs, suggesting the OsYABBY4 protein domain is conserved with its Arabidopsis counterparts in sequences. Our results also indicate that the functional diversification of OsYABBY4 may be associated with the divergent spatial-temporal expression patterns, and YABBY family members may have preserved different expression regulatory systems and functions during the evolution of different kinds of species.     

The MsK family of alfalfa protein kinase genes encodes homologues of shaggy/glycogen synthase kinase-3 and shows differential expression patterns in plant organs and development

This paper reports on the isolation of a novel class of plant serine/threonine protein kinase genes, MsK-1 , MsK-2 and MsK-3 . They belong to the superfamily of cdc2 -like genes, but show highest identity to the Drosophila shaggy and rat GSK-3 proteins (66–70%). All of these kinases share a highly conserved catalytic protein kinase domain. Different amino-terminal extensions distinguish the different proteins. The different plant kinases do not originate from differential processing of the same gene as is found for shaggy , but are encoded by different members of a gene family. Similarly to the shaggy kinases, the plant kinases show different organ-specific and stage-specific developmental expression patterns. Since the shaggy kinases play an important role in intercellular communication in Drosophila development, the MsK kinases are expected to perform a similar function in plants.