Abstract
Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a ubiquitous transcription factor in eukaryotes, which is composed of three subunits (NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC). NF-Y has been identified as a key regulator of multiple pathways in plants. Although the NF-Y gene family has been identified in many plants, it has not been reported in potato (Solanum tuberosum). In the present study, a total of 41 NF-Y proteins in potato (StNF-Ys) were identified, including 10 StNF-YA, 22 StNF-YB, and nine StNF-YC subunits, and their distribution on chromosomes, gene structure, and conserved motif was analyzed. A synteny analysis indicated that 14 and 38 pairs of StNF-Y genes were orthologous to Arabidopsis and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), respectively, and these gene pairs evolved under strong purifying selection. In addition, we analyzed the expression profiles of NF-Y genes in different tissues of double haploid (DM) potato, as well as under abiotic stresses and hormone treatments by RNA-seq downloaded from the Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (PGSC) database. Furthermore, we performed RNA-seq on white, red, and purple tuber skin and flesh of three potato cultivars at the tuber maturation stage to identify genes that might be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. These results provide valuable information for improved understanding of StNF-Y gene family and further functional analysis of StNF-Y genes in fruit development, abiotic stress tolerance, and anthocyanin biosynthesis in potato.
Highlights
Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factor, known as CCAAT-box binding factor (CBF) or heme-associated protein (HAP) (Mantovani, 1999), is a ubiquitous transcription factor in eukaryotes (Zhao et al, 2017)
The nuclear factor Y transcription factor in potato (StNF-Y) proteins varied in length and physicochemical properties, the number of amino acid residues of StNF-Y proteins ranged from 120 (PG0013302) to 311 (PG0021365), the molecular weights were between 13.82 kDa (PG0013302) and 33.97 kDa (PG0021365), and the pI values ranged from 4.64 (PG0023065) to 9.65 (PG0002484)
The results indicated that 22 and 10 StNF-Y genes responded to BAP and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments (FPKM > 1 and | log2FC| > 1), FIGURE 6 | The segmental replication events of StNF-Y genes in potato and the orthologous relationships of StNF-Y genes with tomato and Arabidopsis
Summary
Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factor, known as CCAAT-box binding factor (CBF) or heme-associated protein (HAP) (Mantovani, 1999), is a ubiquitous transcription factor in eukaryotes (Zhao et al, 2017). NF-Y is a trimeric transcription factor composed of three distinct subunits, namely, NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC (Nardini et al, 2013). Upon arrival in the nucleus, the NF-YA subunit is recruited and combines with NF-YB/NFYC heterodimer to produce mature NF-Y complex (Kahle et al, 2005; Laloum et al, 2013). In mature NF-Y complex, the NFYA subunit provides a distinctive sequence that binds to the CCAAT cis-element and regulates the expression of target genes (Hackenberg et al, 2012; Yan et al, 2013; Cao et al, 2014; Xu et al, 2016). Each NFY subunit is encoded by a single gene; three NF-Y subunits are encoded by multiple genes in plants (Li et al, 1992; Petroni et al, 2012)
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