Abstract
MADS-box family genes encode transcription factors that are involved in multiple developmental processes in plants, especially in floral organ specification, fruit development, and ripening. However, a comprehensive analysis of tomato MADS-box family genes, which is an important model plant to study flower fruit development and ripening, remains obscure. To gain insight into the MADS-box genes in tomato, 131 tomato MADS-box genes were identified. These genes could be divided into five groups (Mα, Mβ, Mγ, Mδ, and MIKC) and were found to be located on all 12 chromosomes. We further analyzed the phylogenetic relationships among Arabidopsis and tomato, as well as the protein motif structure and exon–intron organization, to better understand the tomato MADS-box gene family. Additionally, owing to the role of MADS-box genes in floral organ identification and fruit development, the constitutive expression patterns of MADS-box genes at different stages in tomato development were identified. We analyzed 15 tomato MADS-box genes involved in floral organ identification and five tomato MADS-box genes related to fruit development by qRT-PCR. Collectively, our study provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the tomato MADS-box genes and would be valuable for the further functional characterization of some important members of the MADS-box gene family.
Highlights
The MADS-box family genes encode transcription factors (TFs), which are widely distributed in eukaryotes and play fundamental roles in diverse biological functions [1]
The name MADS-box is derived from the initials of four transcription factors that were first discovered of this family: MINICHROMOSOME MAINTENANCE 1 (MCM1), AGAMOUS (AG), DEFICIENS (DEF), and SERUM RESPONSE FACTOR (SRF) [2]
The statistical results showed that the amino acid sequence length of the 131 predicted tomato MADS-box proteins varied from 54 (SlMBP19) to 417 (SlMADS52), the relative molecular mass ranged from 6224.26 Da (SlMBP19) to 47275.1 Da (SlMADS52), and the isoelectric point varied from 4.41 (SlMADS70) to 11.03 (SlMADS77 and SlMADS80)
Summary
The MADS-box family genes encode transcription factors (TFs), which are widely distributed in eukaryotes and play fundamental roles in diverse biological functions [1]. The name MADS-box is derived from the initials of four transcription factors that were first discovered of this family: MINICHROMOSOME MAINTENANCE 1 (MCM1), AGAMOUS (AG), DEFICIENS (DEF), and SERUM RESPONSE FACTOR (SRF) [2]. Their N-terminal contains a highly conserved DNA-binding MADS-domain containing 56–60 amino acids [2]. Type I MADS-box transcription factors can be further classified into four subclasses (Mα, Mβ, Mγ, and Mδ) in view of the M domain of the encoded protein, while only a few type I genes have been characterized for their biological function [4]. 39 MIKCC type MADS-box genes were found in Arabidopsis thaliana [6], and 38 MIKCC type MADS-box genes were found in rice [7]
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