Abstract
MADS-box is a critical transcription factor regulating the development of floral organs and plays essential roles in the growth and development of floral transformation, flower meristem determination, the development of male and female gametophytes, and fruit development. In this study, 36 MIKC-type MADS-box genes were identified in the ‘Taishanhong’ pomegranate genome. By utilizing phylogenetic analysis, 36 genes were divided into 14 subfamilies. Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the gene structure, conserved motifs, cis-acting elements, and the protein interaction networks of the MIKC-type MADS-box family members in pomegranate, and their expressions pattern in different tissues of pomegranate were analyzed. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed that the E-class genes (PgMADS03, PgMADS21, and PgMADS27) were highly expressed in floral tissues, while PgMADS29 was not expressed in all tissues, indicating that the functions of the E-class genes were differentiated. PgMADS15 of the C/D-class was the key gene in the development network of pomegranate flower organs, suggesting that PgMADS15 might play an essential role in the peel and inner seed coat development of pomegranate. The results in this study will provide a reference for the classification, cloning, and functional research of pomegranate MADS-box genes.
Highlights
MADS-box (its name from Minichromosome maintenance 1 (MCM1), AGAMOUS (AG), DEFICIENS (DEF) and serum response factor (SRF)) genes encode transcription factors, have been widely found in plants, fungi, and animals, and contain the highly conservative MADS-domain composed of approximately 55 amino acids [1,2]
MADS-box genes were identified in pomegranate, which were renamed as PgMADS01~PgMADS36 according to the gene sequence number [13], for convenience in subsequent analysis (Table 1)
A total of 36 candidate MIKC-type MADS-box genes were identified in pomegranate
Summary
MADS-box (its name from Minichromosome maintenance 1 (MCM1), AGAMOUS (AG), DEFICIENS (DEF) and serum response factor (SRF)) genes encode transcription factors, have been widely found in plants, fungi, and animals, and contain the highly conservative MADS-domain composed of approximately 55 amino acids [1,2]. On the basis of genetic structures and phylogenetic analysis, the MADS-box family can be divided into two phylogenetically distinct groups: type I and type II [3]. Most of the well-studied plant genes are type II genes that have three more domains than those of type. I genes: a more conservative intervening domain (I-domain), a moderately conservative keratin-like coiled-coil domain (K-domain), and a variable C-terminal domain (C-domain) [4]. These genes are considered as the MIKC-type and are specific to plants. The plant-specific MIKC-type MADS-box genes were first identified as floral organ determinant genes in Arabidopsis thaliana and Antirrhinum majus [5,6].
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