Evolutionary Relationship and Structural Characterization of the EPF/EPFL Gene Family

Naoki Takata,Shinya Ohki,Toru Taniguchi,Masashi Mori,Kiyonobu Yokota,Manabu Kurita,Ive De Smet

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065183

Abstract

EPF1-EPF2 and EPFL9/Stomagen act antagonistically in regulating leaf stomatal density. The aim of this study was to elucidate the evolutionary functional divergence of EPF/EPFL family genes. Phylogenetic analyses showed that AtEPFL9/Stomagen-like genes are conserved only in vascular plants and are closely related to AtEPF1/EPF2-like genes. Modeling showed that EPF/EPFL peptides share a common 3D structure that is constituted of a scaffold and loop. Molecular dynamics simulation suggested that AtEPF1/EPF2-like peptides form an additional disulfide bond in their loop regions and show greater flexibility in these regions than AtEPFL9/Stomagen-like peptides. This study uncovered the evolutionary relationship and the conformational divergence of proteins encoded by the EPF/EPFL family genes.

Highlights

Stomata are pores on the aerial surfaces of land plants that mediate gas exchange between plants and their environment
Phylogenetic trees clearly showed that EPF/EPFL genes separated into four clades (EPF1-EPF2-EPFL7 clade, EPFL9/Stomagen clade, EPFL1-3 clade and EPFL4-6-EPFL8 clade; the clades were named after respective EPF/EPFLs in A. thaliana.) in land plants (Fig. 1, Fig. S1, Dataset S1)
AtEPF1 and AtEPF2 have an antagonistic role with AtEPFL9/ Stomagen in regulating stomatal density and patterning in leaf tissue

Summary

Introduction

Stomata are pores on the aerial surfaces of land plants that mediate gas exchange between plants and their environment. In the evolution of land plants, stomatal density significantly shifted in response to fluctuations in the atmospheric environment such as CO2 concentration. By the late Devonian/early Carboniferous, the density had increased by up to 100 times in response to a dramatic decline in the atmospheric CO2 concentration [3], which resulted in morphological advances such as planate leaves in vascular plants [4]. This evolutionary innovation in leaf tissues implies that early vascular plants had developed molecular systems elevating their stomatal density when they perceived the atmospheric fluctuation

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Conclusion