Abstract
BackgroundWRKY proteins comprise a large family of transcription factors that play important roles in many aspects of physiological processes and adaption to environment. However, little information was available about the WRKY genes in pineapple (Ananas comosus), an important tropical fruits. The recent release of the whole-genome sequence of pineapple allowed us to perform a genome-wide investigation into the organization and expression profiling of pineapple WRKY genes.ResultsIn the present study, 54 pineapple WRKY (AcWRKY) genes were identified and renamed on the basis of their respective chromosome distribution. According to their structural and phylogenetic features, the 54 AcWRKYs were further classified into three main groups with several subgroups. The segmental duplication events played a major role in the expansion of pineapple WRKY gene family. Synteny analysis and phylogenetic comparison of group III WRKY genes provided deep insight into the evolutionary characteristics of pineapple WRKY genes. Expression profiles derived from transcriptome data and real-time quantitative PCR analysis exhibited distinct expression patterns of AcWRKY genes in various tissues and in response to different abiotic stress and hormonal treatments.ConclusionsFifty four WRKY genes were identified in pineapple and the structure of their encoded proteins, their evolutionary characteristics and expression patterns were examined in this study. This systematic analysis provided a foundation for further functional characterization of WRKY genes with an aim of pineapple crop improvement.
Highlights
WRKY proteins comprise a large family of transcription factors that play important roles in many aspects of physiological processes and adaption to environment
Identification of the WRKY proteins in pineapple A total of 56 candidate gene models corresponding to the Pfam WRKY family were originally obtained
54 gene models were selected and annotated as being pineapple WRKY genes based on the presence of apparently complete WRKY domains
Summary
WRKY proteins comprise a large family of transcription factors that play important roles in many aspects of physiological processes and adaption to environment. The most prominent feature of the WRKY proteins is the 60 amino acid long WRKY domain, which comprises the highly conserved signature WRKYGQK followed by a C2H2- or C2HC-type of zinc-finger motif. Both heptapetide sequence and zinc-finger motif are required for the high binding affinity of WRKY TFs to the consensus W-box cis-elements [2, 3]. Substantial evidence indicates that the WRKY transcription factors are involved in plant defense regulatory networks, including response to various biotic and abiotic stresses [6, 7]. The WRKY proteins play a key role in plant defense against biotic stresses including bacterial, fungal
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