Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the APETALA2 (AP2) Transcription Factor in Dendrobium officinale.

Danqi Zeng,Can Si,Chunmei He,Jun Duan,Jaime Teixeira da Silva,Mingze Zhang,Conghui Zhao,Zhenming Yu,Guangyi Dai

doi:10.3390/ijms22105221

Abstract

The APETALA2 (AP2) transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in regulating development in plants. However, a comprehensive analysis of the AP2 family members in a valuable Chinese herbal orchid, Dendrobium officinale, or in other orchids, is limited. In this study, the 14 DoAP2 TFs that were identified from the D. officinale genome and named DoAP2-1 to DoAP2-14 were divided into three clades: euAP2, euANT, and basalANT. The promoters of all DoAP2 genes contained cis-regulatory elements related to plant development and also responsive to plant hormones and stress. qRT-PCR analysis showed the abundant expression of DoAP2-2, DoAP2-5, DoAP2-7, DoAP2-8 and DoAP2-12 genes in protocorm-like bodies (PLBs), while DoAP2-3, DoAP2-4, DoAP2-6, DoAP2-9, DoAP2-10 and DoAP2-11 expression was strong in plantlets. In addition, the expression of some DoAP2 genes was down-regulated during flower development. These results suggest that DoAP2 genes may play roles in plant regeneration and flower development in D. officinale. Four DoAP2 genes (DoAP2-1 from euAP2, DoAP2-2 from euANT, and DoAP2-6 and DoAP2-11 from basal ANT) were selected for further analyses. The transcriptional activation of DoAP2-1, DoAP2-2, DoAP2-6 and DoAP2-11 proteins, which were localized in the nucleus of Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll protoplasts, was further analyzed by a dual-luciferase reporter gene system in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Our data showed that pBD-DoAP2-1, pBD-DoAP2-2, pBD-DoAP2-6 and pBD-DoAP2-11 significantly repressed the expression of the LUC reporter compared with the negative control (pBD), suggesting that these DoAP2 proteins may act as transcriptional repressors in the nucleus of plant cells. Our findings on AP2 genes in D. officinale shed light on the function of AP2 genes in this orchid and other plant species.

Highlights

IntroductionBiochemical and genetic mechanisms in plants tend to be sophisticated, including delicate networks involved in regulatory mechanisms that allow plants to adapt to varying environments and resist biotic and abiotic stresses
As relatively static organisms, biochemical and genetic mechanisms in plants tend to be sophisticated, including delicate networks involved in regulatory mechanisms that allow plants to adapt to varying environments and resist biotic and abiotic stresses
We identified 14 DoAP2 Transcription factors (TFs) from a precious Chinese herbal medicinal orchid, D. officinale

Summary

Introduction

Biochemical and genetic mechanisms in plants tend to be sophisticated, including delicate networks involved in regulatory mechanisms that allow plants to adapt to varying environments and resist biotic and abiotic stresses. The regulation of gene transcription by TFs is an extremely complicated process [1], and is vital to plant growth and environmental responses. (AP2) belongs to the APETALA2/Ethylene Response Factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily [2,3], which participates in the regulation of various biological processes in plants, such as growth and development (flower development, somatic embryogenesis, meristem and leaf growth, etc.), hormones and stress responses [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. The AP2 protein is exclusive to plants and contains two AP2 domains that have been found in ancient plants such as gymnosperms, mosses, and Chlamydomonas, indicating that AP2 and EREBP (ethylene responsive element binding protein) families differentiated before Chlorophyta and Streptophyta lineages differentiated [14]. Three A. thaliana AP2 genes (AtAP2-6, AtAP2-7 and AtAP2-11) are involved in the regulation of seed development [15]

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Conclusion