Abstract
The TIFY gene family is a plant-specific gene family encoding a group of proteins characterized by its namesake, the conservative TIFY domain and members can be organized into four subfamilies: ZML, TIFY, PPD and JAZ (Jasmonate ZIM-domain protein) by presence of additional conserved domains. The TIFY gene family is intensively explored in several model and agriculturally important crop species and here, yet the composition of the TIFY family of maize has remained unresolved. This study increases the number of maize TIFY family members known by 40%, bringing the total to 47 including 38 JAZ, 5 TIFY, and 4 ZML genes. The majority of the newly identified genes were belonging to the JAZ subfamily, six of which had aberrant TIFY domains, suggesting loss JAZ-JAZ or JAZ-NINJA interactions. Six JAZ genes were found to have truncated Jas domain or an altered degron motif, suggesting resistance to classical JAZ degradation. In addition, seven membranes were found to have an LxLxL-type EAR motif which allows them to recruit TPL/TPP co-repressors directly without association to NINJA. Expression analysis revealed that ZmJAZ14 was specifically expressed in the seeds and ZmJAZ19 and 22 in the anthers, while the majority of other ZmJAZs were generally highly expressed across diverse tissue types. Additionally, ZmJAZ genes were highly responsive to wounding and JA treatment. This study provides a comprehensive update of the maize TIFY/JAZ gene family paving the way for functional, physiological, and ecological analysis.
Highlights
Jasmonates (JAs) are plant oxylipin hormones involved in the regulation of diverse physiological processes in plants, including reproductive development, abiotic stress response, and defense against insect and microbes [1,2,3]
The remaining 38 TIFY proteins were characterized as JAZMONATE ZIM-Domain (JAZ) proteins, six of which had no TIFY domain at the N-terminus, but all had a Jas domain at the C-terminus (Tables 1 and S1)
Among the 47 TIFY genes, nearly 40% have never been identified in previous analyses of the maize TIFY family
Summary
Jasmonates (JAs) are plant oxylipin hormones involved in the regulation of diverse physiological processes in plants, including reproductive development, abiotic stress response, and defense against insect and microbes [1,2,3]. Jasmonates are synthesized from linolenic acid via the octadecanoid pathway [4,5,6], through the activity of at least eight enzymes (lipase, lipoxygenase, allene oxide synthase and cyclase, 12-OPDA (12-oxophytodienoic acid) reductase, acyl-CoA oxidase, a multifunctional protein, and 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase) [7,8,9]. JA perception occurs through the interaction of the biologically active ligand, JA-Ile, with. Funds for the Central Universities (KYTZ201402 and KYRC201404), the Outstanding Scientific Innovation Team Program for Jiangsu Universities (2015), the Agricultural Applied Technology Development Program of Shanghai City (Z20180103), the Technology-Promoting Program Funded by Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (17391900100) and the Youth Talent Career-Development Plan Funded by the commission of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shanghai Municipality (20180102)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
