Genome-wide characterization and expression analysis of the auxin response factor (ARF) gene family during melon (Cucumis melo L.) fruit development

Bei Wu,Jinghong Hao,Lu Wang,Ting Li,Xin Li,Gaoyang Pan

doi:10.1007/s00709-020-01484-2

Abstract

ARFs in plants mediate auxin signaling transduction and regulate growth process. To determine genome-wide characterization of ARFs family in melon (Cucumis melo L.), ARFs were identified via analysis of information within the melon genomic database, and bioinformatic analyses were performed using various types of software. Based on different treatment methods involving dipping with the growth regulator Fengchanji No. 2 and artificial pollination, Jingmi No. 11 melon was used as the test material, and melon plants with unpollinated ovaries served as controls. The expression of ARFs during the early development of melon was analyzed via qRT-PCR. Seventeen genes that encode ARF proteins were identified in the melon genome for the first time. The expression of these ARFs differed in different tissues. The expression levels of CmARF2, CmARF16-like, CmARF18-like2, and CmARF19-like were especially high in melon fruits. The expression of ARFs during the early development of melon fruits differed in response to the different treatments, which suggested that CmARF9, CmARF16-like, CmARF19-like, CmARF19, CmARF1, CmARF2, CmARF3, and CmARF5 may be associated with melon fruit growth during early development. Interestingly, the increase in the transverse diameter of fruits treated with growth regulators was significantly greater than that of fruits resulting from artificial pollination, while the increase in the longitudinal diameter of the fruits resulting from artificial pollination was significantly greater.

Highlights

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an important horticultural crop species that is cultivated in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions worldwide
Via the WoLF PSORT program, 16 auxin response factor (ARF) proteins were determined to be located in the nucleus, whereas CmARF5 was predicted to be located in the peroxisome
The results showed that, as fruit development progressed, the expression levels of CmARF1, CmARF4, and CmARF5 tended to increase in the three treatments, while those of CmARF2, CmARF9, and CmARF19 tended to decrease

Summary

Introduction

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an important horticultural crop species that is cultivated in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions worldwide. It has been shown that auxin coordinates plant development essentially via the transcriptional regulation of members of certain gene families, such as the auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA), Gretchen Hagen 3 (GH3), small auxin-up RNA (SAUR), and auxin response factor (ARF) families (Tiwari et al 2001; Park et al 2007; ElsharkawyI et al 2014). Recent studies have shown that auxin signal transduction may be accomplished via the regulation of ARFs. Recent studies have shown that auxin signal transduction may be accomplished via the regulation of ARFs These so-called early auxinresponsive genes are characterized by conserved promoter elements, such as the TGA element (AACGAC), core element of the auxin response region (AuxRE-core; GGTCCAT), and auxin response element (AuxRE; TGTCTC) (Guilfoyle and Hagen 2007; Tiwari et al 2003). As important components of the auxin signaling pathway, ARFs activate or repress the expression of auxin-responsive genes by binding to AuxREs in the promoters of those genes (Ulmasov et al 1999)

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