Evolutionary Analysis of JAZ Proteins in Plants: An Approach in Search of the Ancestral Sequence.

Felipe Valenzuela-Riffo,Carlos Figueroa,Adrián Garrido-Bigotes

doi:10.3390/ijms20205060

Abstract

Jasmonates are phytohormones that regulate development, metabolism and immunity. Signal transduction is critical to activate jasmonate responses, but the evolution of some key regulators such as jasmonate-ZIM domain (JAZ) repressors is not clear. Here, we identified 1065 JAZ sequence proteins in 66 lower and higher plants and analyzed their evolution by bioinformatics methods. We found that the TIFY and Jas domains are highly conserved along the evolutionary scale. Furthermore, the canonical degron sequence LPIAR(R/K) of the Jas domain is conserved in lower and higher plants. It is noteworthy that degron sequences showed a large number of alternatives from gymnosperms to dicots. In addition, ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motifs are displayed in all plant lineages from liverworts to angiosperms. However, the cryptic MYC2-interacting domain (CMID) domain appeared in angiosperms for the first time. The phylogenetic analysis performed using the Maximum Likelihood method indicated that JAZ ortholog proteins are grouped according to their similarity and plant lineage. Moreover, ancestral JAZ sequences were constructed by PhyloBot software and showed specific changes in the TIFY and Jas domains during evolution from liverworts to dicots. Finally, we propose a model for the evolution of the ancestral sequences of the main eight JAZ protein subgroups. These findings contribute to the understanding of the JAZ family origin and expansion in land plants.

Highlights

Jasmonates (JAs) are phytohormones that regulate the defense responses, growth and development, fertility and reproduction, as well as the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in terrestrial plants [1]
The element binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motif defined as DLNEPT, which is located between the TIFY and Jas domains, was only conserved in dicot plants (Figure 3)
jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) protein members are more numerous in dicots versus liverwort [14,15,31], according to what was observed in the 82 organisms considered in this study (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Jasmonates (JAs) are phytohormones that regulate the defense responses, growth and development, fertility and reproduction, as well as the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in terrestrial plants [1]. Their biosynthesis and canonical signaling pathways have been well characterized in vascular plants [2]. The machinery of perception of the JA-signaling pathway and JAZ repressors seems to be conserved from liverworts to angiosperms, some structural and functional differences could exist because of the great phylogenetic distance of these lineages

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Conclusion