Abstract
Plant-specific TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1, CYCLOIDEA, and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS (TCP) transcription factors play versatile functions in multiple processes of plant growth and development. However, no systematic study has been performed in strawberry. In this study, 19 FvTCP genes were identified in the diploid woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) accession Heilongjiang-3. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the FvTCP genes were classified into two main classes, with the second class further divided into two subclasses, which was supported by the exon-intron organizations and the conserved motif structures. Promoter analysis revealed various cis-acting elements related to growth and development, hormone and/or stress responses. We analyzed FvTCP gene transcript accumulation patterns in different tissues and fruit developmental stages. Among them, 12 FvTCP genes exhibited distinct tissue-specific transcript accumulation patterns. Eleven FvTCP genes were down-regulated in different fruit developmental stages, while five FvTCP genes were up-regulated. Transcripts of FvTCP genes also varied with different subcultural propagation periods and were induced by hormone treatments and biotic and abiotic stresses. Subcellular localization analysis showed that six FvTCP-GFP fusion proteins showed distinct localizations in Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts. Notably, transient over-expression of FvTCP9 in strawberry fruits dramatically affected the expression of a series of genes implicated in fruit development and ripening. Taken together, the present study may provide the basis for functional studies to reveal the role of this gene family in strawberry growth and development.
Highlights
TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1, CYCLOIDEA, and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS (TCP) transcription factors constitute a small family of plant-specific transcription factors that play versatile functions in regulating diverse plant growth and development processes by controlling cell proliferation (Martin-Trillo and Cubas, 2010)
19 nonredundant FvTCP genes were identified in the diploid woodland strawberry and further annotated as FvTCP1 to FvTCP19 according to their locations in strawberry linkage groups 1–7 (Table 1)
19 FvTCP genes were identified in the diploid woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca and placed in an evolutionary context based on phylogenetic and structural feature analyses
Summary
TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1, CYCLOIDEA, and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS (TCP) transcription factors constitute a small family of plant-specific transcription factors that play versatile functions in regulating diverse plant growth and development processes by controlling cell proliferation (Martin-Trillo and Cubas, 2010). 1999 and named after the first three characterized family members: TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1 (TB1) in maize (Zea mays), CYCLOIDEA (CYC) in snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS 1 and 2 (PCF1 and PCF2) in rice (Oryza sativa; Cubas et al, 1999) This class of transcription factors is characterized by a highly conserved 59-residue-long non-canonical basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) structure at the N-terminus called the TCP domain, which is involved in DNA binding, protein nuclear localization, and protein–protein interactions (Cubas et al, 1999; Kosugi and Ohashi, 2002). Outside the TCP domain, several class II members are present in an 18-20-residue arginine-rich motif called the R domain with an unknown function, which is speculated to facilitate protein– protein interactions (Cubas et al, 1999)
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