Agri Gene最新文献

WRKY transcription factors play diverse roles in biotic and abiotic stresses. However, little comprehensive study has been presented about maize WRKY genes in drought stress response. In the present study, the phylogenetic relationships between ZmWRKYs and known WRKYs were analyzed, and it was shown that the gene structure and motif compositions were conserved within a group or a subgroup identified. And then, the expression profiling of ZmWRKY genes based on the global microarray data revealed eight genes responded to drought stress. Additionally, RNA-Seq profiling showed that 58 ZmWRKY genes were induced in drought stress. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was used to verify the expression patterns of several candidate drought-responsive ZmWRKY genes. The cis-elements analysis of ten candidate ZmWRKY genes showed that the putative promoter of each gene includes at least a drought-responsive MBS element. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction analyses revealed the intricate co-regulatory and co-expression network, which was consistent with the drought-responsive expression profiles of ZmWRKYs. Thus, these results provide a fundamental clue for cloning functional maize WRKY genes.

Licorice derived from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch is an important traditional Chinese medicine. The cultivated licorice has gradually replaced the wild licorice, becoming the main source, while its quality is unstable. To explore the influence of genetic and environment on the quality of cultivated licorice, the growth characteristics and the contents of glycyrrhizin and liquiritin of eight-year-old licorice were analyzed. The growth characteristics and contents of glycyrrhizin and liquiritin of eight-year-old licorice varied in different provenances. Especially, the contents of lycyrrhizin and liquiritin of different sources existed significant variation owing to genetic expression. Further, the growth characteristics were negatively correlated with temperature and moisture, while the contents of glycyrrhizin and liquiritin were positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with moisture. It indicated that there were significant geographic variations in the growth of eight-year-old licorice, which was associated with genetic expression and the ecological environment.

The fresh fleshy peduncles of Hovenia acerba have been used as a food supplement and traditional herbal medicine (i.e. immunostimulatory and antialcoholism) for a long time. However, little is known about the genetic factors underlying peduncle development. Here, we presented the first transcriptome-wide peduncle development research at two developmental stages using Illumina's Genome Analyzer. Our results indicated that a total of 146,206 unigenes were identified and their functional annotation and classification revealed that the unigenes involved in energy catabolism and genetic information processing were necessary to the developing of peduncle in H. acerba. The comparison of Gene Ontology (GO) annotation between two developmental stages indicated that the term of oxidation-reduction process exhibited the big difference in unigene number, in which the possible relative transcription factors were identified. However, we found that these transcription factors were partly involved in oxidation-reduction process and most of them were involved in regulation of transcription. The metabolic process was classified into the second different GO term when compared unigene number between two stages. Combined with the KEGG pathway annotation, we found that carbohydrate metabolism showed the major difference in unigene number, which might contribute to the biosynthesis of polysaccharides as immunostimulatory agent. Finally, 54 candidate genes encoding 14 enzymes were found to biosynthesize flavonoid that has the antialcoholism effect. This study is the first report on transcriptome information in H. acerba and will promote to understand the genetic mechanism of peduncle development.

Tube, an IRAK- 4 (Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-4) homolog, is a key component in the Toll signalling pathway that has diverse role in the innate immunity of organisms including the ontogenic development. In the present study, Tube from Penaeus monodon (PmIRAK-4) was studied in response to infection with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and on exposure to various ligands. The ontogenic expression pattern of PmIRAK-4 in different developmental stages of P. monodon showed that the gene was constitutively expressed in all the stages tested with the maximum expression detected in egg. Immune-modulation of PmIRAK-4 in response to WSSV was studied in post-larvae, juveniles and adult P. monodon in vivo, and in primary haemocyte cultures at different time-points post-infection in vitro. PmIRAK-4 displayed significant up-regulation in haemocytes, gill, lymphoid organ and stomach at all time-points in vivo as well as in primary haemocyte cultures in vitro. To understand the post-injection stress on the immune-modulation, we have compared the expression level of PmIRAK-4 using zero hour (un-injected) and phosphate buffered saline (PBS)-injected controls, wherein the trend in expression was found to be similar. Following in vitro stimulation with ligands such as lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan, significant up-regulation of the gene could be observed at all time-points. However, poly I:C induction resulted in down-regulation of the same at early time-points. The ubiquitous expression of PmIRAK-4 in different larval and post-larval stages implies the involvement of the gene in defense mechanism during early developmental stages of P. monodon. Further, the modulation of expression of PmIRAK-4 in response to WSSV and different ligands indicates its possible role in immune responses in shrimp.

A total of 85 NAC genes of sugarcane (ScNAC) were retrieved from GRASSIUS (grass regulatory information server). An overview of this gene family is presented including conserved domains, phylogenies, comparative analysis of NAC genes of sugarcane with its closest relative sorghum and with other monocot species. Among the Poaceae family, the NAC genes from sugarcane showed high sequence identity with most of the NAC genes of Sorghum bicolor. A highly conserved two proline residues, a glycine, phenyl alanine and leucine residues are present in N-terminal domain. Conserved amino acid residues and phylogeny helps us to classify the ScNAC gene family into two major groups (Group I and II) and five subgroups (A–E). The analysis of phylogenetic tree of NAC protein sequences of sugarcane with sorghum, rice, maize and Arabidopsis reveals distinct clades with several orthologs and paralogs. A total of 30 pairs of paralogous NAC genes were identified in sugarcane. Based on the orthology, putative stress associated NAC genes were predicted in sugarcane. These stress associated NAC genes of sugarcane and their orthologs from other species were clustered in the phylogenetic tree and shared common motifs, revealing the possibility of functional similarities within this subgroup.

SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor adaptor protein receptors) are small polypeptides characterized by a particular domain called the SNARE motif. Compared with the genome of other eukaryotes, monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants have more SNAREs indicating their important roles in higher plant species. Higher plants have the capability to form SNARE complexes that are important in determining the precise process of vesicle fusion for intracellular trafficking pathways. SNAREs have been reported to be engaged in the delivery of cell wall precursors to the newly formed cell plate during cytokinesis. The role of SNARE genes in response to plant-pathogen interaction is still not well understood. We found 35 SNARE genes in the wheat genome using a Hidden Markov Model. In this study with combined usage of in silico and molecular cloning technologies, we identified and characterized three SNARE genes (SNARE3, SNARE5 and SNARE6). The deduced amino acid sequences of these SNARE genes contained two characteristic conserved domains – a SNARE motif and a transmembrane domain, and they showed a high degree of homology with other eukaryotic SNARE genes. Phylogenetic analysis and three dimensional structures built with the help of Modeller software confirmed the presence of SNARE motifs in the proteins. The spatio-temporal expression profiling studies exemplify the positive role of SNARE transcripts have in resistant and susceptible wheat plants during incompatible and compatible interaction respectively, in response to Puccinia triticina induced leaf-rust infection. Taken together, our study suggests a role for SNARE genes in vesicle mediated resistance to leaf rust in wheat.

Although the invGnRH peptide was characterized from the nerve ganglia in bivalves, its signaling mechanism is nevertheless unclear. The objective of this paper was to identify the invGnRHR cDNA from Yesso scallop as a first step for understanding of invGnRH in bivalve neuroendocrine system. We performed PCR cloning mediated with transcriptome survey and expression analysis with various tissues of the scallop. Our results showed that we identified an invGnRHR-like cDNAs from not only Yesso scallop Patinopecten yessoensis but also Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. In addition, we subsequently identified an adipokinetic hormone receptor (AKHR)-like and AKH-like cDNA pair from the scallop. Comparison of the tissue distributions of both receptor mRNAs suggested functional divergence of two homologous neuropeptides. In brief, py-GnRHR-like mRNA showed broad distribution in various tissues including the nerve ganglia, while py-AKHR-like mRNA was expressed in the nerve ganglia and restricted to some limited peripheral tissues. The findings suggested that both py-GnRH and py-AKH signals were utilized via their own receptors. qPCR assays revealed their receptor mRNA expression in the gonads during a maturation, showing that py-GnRHR-like mRNA in the pre-mature gonads was higher than other mature stages.

The effect of short-term treatments with non-toxic concentrations of chemical elicitors of carbon mobilization and/or defense responses on fructan accumulation and complexity was analyzed in Agave tequilana plantlets. These included sucrose (ExSuc), salicylic acid (SA), and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Methyl viologen (MV), an oxidative-stress elicitor, was also tested. Stems of ExSuc- and SA-treated agaves accumulated fructan with contrasting degree of polymerization (DP), being higher (DP12) in the ExSuc treatment. The difference agreed with 1-SST, 6G-FFT and 6-fructan exohydrolase (FEH) gene expression patterns. Thus, a strong, 6G-FFT expression detected 6 days after treatment (DAT), coupled to a systematic repression of FEH genes occurred in Ex-Suc treated agaves. Conversely, SA treatment induced maximum 6G-FFT expression and a transitory induction of FEH genes 2 DAT. MV also induced an accumulation of low-DP fructans 6 DAT. Additionally, it stimulated the highest fructan accumulation in leaves. Contrariwise, MeJA led to a depletion of soluble non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) and fructan, particularly in leaves. An inverse relationship between high invertase and FEH gene expression levels and minimal NSCs and fructan reserves was observed in response to MeJA. Low DP fructan accumulation by MV could not be attributed to a measurable oxidative stress. Still, high antioxidant enzyme activity, indirectly manifesting oxidative stress, coincided with fructan accumulation in MV-treated agaves. High invertase and FEH expression levels induced by MeJA in leaves, and to a lesser degree by SA and MV, coincided with transcript accumulation of defense-related genes, and were, to a certain extent, in accordance with the “sweet immunity” concept, linking sugar and defense signaling.

The letter addresses the contribution of RNA editing to tissue-specific diversification of insect chemosensory proteins (CSPs) with a particular focus on the moth Bombyx mori. This narrow focus on RNA editing of a single gene family in a single insect species might have a broad significance to an integrated view of protein structure evolution. Including protein structure models of new edited variants and mapping the position of specific cysteine and glycine residues believed to be inserted though or mediated via mutation, we suggest effects of RNA editing on CSP protein function.

The sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genome contains a number of putative serpins (serine protease inhibitors) that are expressed under varying conditions, but little is known about their biological function. One of the sorghum serpin genes encodes a protein that contains reactive center residues Leu-Arg-X (X = small residue), called a LR serpin. Similar plant-derived LR serpin proteins can inactivate mammalian trypsins and have activity against insect trypsins. In this study the sorghum LR serpin, and two non-LR sorghum serpins, which were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using immobilized metal-affinity chromatography, were shown to inhibit in vitro trypsin activity from larval midgut extract of corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Each serpin was added individually to sorghum leaf insect diet that was fed to corn earworm and fall armyworm larvae. Statistically significant reductions (30–53%) in the mean weight of corn earworm larvae, but not for fall armyworm larvae, were found in the larvae feeding on diet containing each of the serpins compared to the mean weight of those feeding on control diet. These studies suggest that the sorghum serpin genes could be utilized for corn earworm larvae resistance in sorghum breeding but fall armyworm larvae have compensatory mechanisms to counter the tested sorghum serpins.