Identification and isolation of a homolog of AtSEF gene from apple (Malus domestica)

Abstract

Flowering in fruit trees like apple with a long juvenility is hindered and delayed by some inhibitor genes until their down-regulation by their controlling pathways. Shortening juvenility period could be achieved through identifying and silencing these flowering inhibitors via biotechnological methods. SEF is an Arabidopsis homolog of the yeast SWC6 protein, which is a conserved subunit of the SWR1/SRCAP chromatin-remodeling complex probably involved in the substitution of histone H2A and hence down-regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS C and MADS-AFFECTING FLOWERING 4 and increasing FLOWERING LOCUS T and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 transcript levels. Here, we report the identification of three paralogs of AtSEF gene in apple (Malus domestica) which may have the same regulatory function in the genetic network of flowering in apple. One of these paralogs, MdSEF1, was isolated, cloned and further analyzed through bioinformatic approaches. Amino acid sequences similarity of thisgene to its counterparts from other species showed that it is most similar to a protein from diploid strawberry. In silico analysis of the expression pattern of the isolated gene revealed that it is expressed in young shoot, fruit and root.