Abstract
Members of the plant-specific WOX (WUSCHEL-related homeobox) transcription factor family have been reported to play important roles in peptide signaling that regulates stem cell maintenance and cell fate specification in various developmental processes. Even though remarkable advances have been made in studying WOX genes in Arabidopsis, little is known about this family in Solanaceae species. A total of 45 WOX members from five Solanaceae species were identified, including eight members from Solanum tuberosum, eight from Nicotiana tomentosiformis, 10 from Solanum lycopersicum, 10 from Nicotiana sylvestris and nine from Nicotiana tabacum. The newly identified WOX members were classified into three clades and nine subgroups based on phylogenetic analysis using three different methods. The patterns of exon-intron structure and motif organization of the WOX proteins agreed with the phylogenetic results. Gene duplication events and ongoing evolution were revealed by additional branches on the phylogenetic tree and the presence of a partial WUS-box in some non-WUS clade members. Gene expression with or without CLE (clavata3 (clv3)/embryo surrounding region-related) peptide treatments revealed that tobacco WOX genes showed similar or distinct expression patterns compared with their Arabidopsis homologues, suggesting either functional conservation or divergence. Expression of Nicotiana tabacum WUSCHEL (NtabWUS) in the organizing center could rescue the wus-1 mutant phenotypes in Arabidopsis, implying conserved roles of the Solanaceae WOX proteins in peptide-mediated regulation of plant development.
Highlights
The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) transcription factors belong to a plant-specific subgroup of the homeodomain (HD)-containing transcription factor superfamily, members of which possess a conserved DNA-binding homeodomain
Reported AtWOX full-length and homeodomain amino acid sequences [3] were retrieved from The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR: http://www.arabidopsis.org/), aligned with MAFFT v5.3 to produce Stockholm files and subjected to HMMER v3.0 for building HMM profiles
To identify WOX family genes in the Solanaceae species, homeodomain sequences of 15 previously identified AtWOX proteins were employed to build the HMM profile which was used as queries to perform HMM searches against related protein databases
Summary
The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) transcription factors belong to a plant-specific subgroup of the homeodomain (HD)-containing transcription factor superfamily, members of which possess a conserved DNA-binding homeodomain. A typical homeodomain of WOX transcription factors contains 60 amino acid residues with a helix-loop-helix-turn-helix structure [1]. Earlier expression studies and functional analyses indicated that WOX family members participate in various developmental processes of plants, including stem cell homeostasis and organ formation [1,2]. WOX transcription factors are broadly distributed in plant species, from ancient green algae to both monocots and dicots. 350 WOXs with a typical homeodomain were identified from 50 species in the plant kingdom. These members were grouped into three clades: WOXs from the
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
