Genome-Wide Identification of ARF Gene Family Suggests a Functional Expression Pattern during Fruitlet Abscission in Prunus avium L.

Qiandong Hou,Zhilang Qiu,Guang Qiao,Zhengchun Li,Zhuang Wen,Yi Hong,Huimin Zhang,Xiaopeng Wen

doi:10.3390/ijms222111968

Qiandong Hou, Zhilang Qiu + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222111968

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Abstract

Auxin response factors (ARFs) play a vital role in plant growth and development. In the current study, 16 ARF members have been identified in the sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) genome. These genes are all located in the nucleus. Sequence analysis showed that genes in the same subgroup have similar exon-intron structures. A phylogenetic tree has been divided into five groups. The promoter sequence includes six kinds of plant hormone-related elements, as well as abiotic stress response elements such as low temperature or drought. The expression patterns of PavARF in different tissues, fruitlet abscission, cold and drought treatment were comprehensively analyzed. PavARF10/13 was up-regulated and PavARF4/7/11/12/15 was down-regulated in fruitlet abscising. These genes may be involved in the regulation of fruit drop in sweet cherry fruits. This study comprehensively analyzed the bioinformatics and expression pattern of PavARF, which can lay the foundation for further understanding the PavARF family in plant growth development and fruit abscission.

Highlights

Auxins are a kind of phytohormone widely found in plants, which are influential for plant growth and development phases, including seed germination, inflorescence, fruit development, leaflet formation and blade growth, root architecture and differentiation, etc. [1]
There are many gene families involved in auxin signal transduction, including auxin response factors (ARFs), auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (AUX/IAA), small auxin-up RNAs (SAURs), Gretchen
An HMM profile of the ARF was employed as a query to identify the ARF genes in sweet cherry

Summary

Introduction

Auxins are a kind of phytohormone widely found in plants, which are influential for plant growth and development phases, including seed germination, inflorescence, fruit development, leaflet formation and blade growth, root architecture and differentiation, etc. [1]. Auxin signal transduction entails transcriptional activation of auxin-regulated genes and degradation of transcription repressor protein, this process show variability and complexity [3]. There are many gene families involved in auxin signal transduction, including auxin response factors (ARFs), auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (AUX/IAA), small auxin-up RNAs (SAURs), Gretchen. Auxin levels are not immutable, and changes in auxin level frequently trigger transient changes in these gene families to regulate plant growth and development as well as the impact of variations in the external environment [4]. There are two types of transcription factor families that play a crucial role in the expression of auxin-responsive genes. One is ARF, which can activate or inhibit the expression of the target gene by combining with the auxin response element (AuxRE) with a special sequence

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