Abstract
Sugars are important throughout a plant’s lifecycle. Monosaccharide transporters (MST) are essential sugar transporters that have been identified in many plants, but little is known about the evolution or functions of MST genes in rapeseed (Brassica napus). In this study, we identified 175 MST genes in B. napus, 87 in Brassica oleracea, and 83 in Brassica rapa. These genes were separated into the sugar transport protein (STP), polyol transporter (PLT), vacuolar glucose transporter (VGT), tonoplast monosaccharide transporter (TMT), inositol transporter (INT), plastidic glucose transporter (pGlcT), and ERD6-like subfamilies, respectively. Phylogenetic and syntenic analysis indicated that gene redundancy and gene elimination have commonly occurred in Brassica species during polyploidization. Changes in exon-intron structures during evolution likely resulted in the differences in coding regions, expression patterns, and functions seen among BnMST genes. In total, 31 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified through RNA-seq among materials with high and low harvest index (HI) values, which were divided into two categories based on the qRT-PCR results, expressed more highly in source or sink organs. We finally identified four genes, including BnSTP5, BnSTP13, BnPLT5, and BnERD6-like14, which might be involved in monosaccharide uptake or unloading and further affect the HI of rapeseed. These findings provide fundamental information about MST genes in Brassica and reveal the importance of BnMST genes to high HI in B. napus.
Highlights
Photosynthetic products play essential roles in plant growth and development
In this study, using the amino acid sequences of the 53 AtMSTs as queries, we identified 175 BnMST, 87 BoMST, and 83 BrMST genes by both BLASTP
We performed a systematic study of the BnMST gene family
Summary
Photosynthetic products play essential roles in plant growth and development. These products, sugars (including polyols, monosaccharides, and sucrose), are synthesized in photosynthetic organs (source tissues) [1,2] and transported to heterotrophic cells (sink tissues) [3].The transport and distribution of sugars are important for maintaining the balance between source and sink tissues [4,5]. Photosynthetic products play essential roles in plant growth and development. These products, sugars (including polyols, monosaccharides, and sucrose), are synthesized in photosynthetic organs (source tissues) [1,2] and transported to heterotrophic cells (sink tissues) [3]. The transport and distribution of sugars are important for maintaining the balance between source and sink tissues [4,5]. Plants contain two major types of sugar transporters: sucrose transporters and monosaccharide transporters (MSTs) [6]. MSTs are important transmembrane transporters that have been identified in many land plants and that function in carbohydrate flux [7,8].
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