Integration analysis of MKK and MAPK family members highlights potential MAPK signaling modules in cotton.

Xueying Zhang,Wangzhen Guo,Chuan Chen,Jing Wang,Yujia Yu,Xiaoyang Xu,Caiping Cai

doi:10.1038/srep29781

Xueying Zhang, Wangzhen Guo + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep29781

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Jul 1, 2016
Citations: 30	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Nanjing Agricultural University

Abstract

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades play a crucial role in plant growth and development, as well as their biotic and abiotic stress responses. As a nodal point of the MAPK cascade, the MKK gene family has not been systematically studied in cotton. Here, we identified 11 putative MKK genes in the Gossypium raimondii genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the MKKs were supported by architectures of conserved protein motifs. Expression patterns of MKKs under hormone treatments or abiotic stresses revealed their diverse functions in stress responses. Based on a yeast two hybrid, a total of 63 interactive pairs of MKKs and MAPKs were identified in cotton. Among these, 40 interactive pairs were newly identified compared to that reported previously in Arabidopsis. Integration analysis of the interaction network and expression patterns of MKK and MAPK family members revealed 13 potential MAPK signaling modules that are involved in the complicated cross-talk between hormones and abiotic stresses. Taken together, our data enhance the understanding of the evolution and function of MAPK cascades in cotton, and lay the foundation for the improvement of various defense responses that use MAPK signaling modules in the future.

Highlights

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are evolutionarily conserved and fundamental signal transduction pathways that play roles upstream of various receptors/sensors that transduce extracellular stimuli into intracellular responses in eukaryotes
A total of 80 MAPKK kinase (MAPKKK), 10 MAPK kinase (MAPKK) and 20 MAPKs have been characterized in the Arabidopsis genome4,5; 75 MAPKKKs, 8 MAPKKs and 17 MAPKs are present in the O. sativa genome6,7; 89 MAPKKKs, 6 MAPKKs and 16 MAPKs have been reported in tomato8,9; 74 putative MAPKKKs, 9 MAPKKs and 19 MAPKs have been found in maize10,11; 59 MAPKKKs, 6 MAPKKs and 14 MAPKs have recently been identified in cucumber[12]; and 75 MAPKKKs, 12 MAPKKs and 16 MAPKs are present in the B. distachyon genome[13]
These MKK genes were predicted to encode proteins from 320 to 518 amino acids in length, with putative molecular weights (MWs) ranging from 35.42 to 57.65 KDa and isoelectric points ranging from 5.49 to 8.92 (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are evolutionarily conserved and fundamental signal transduction pathways that play roles upstream of various receptors/sensors that transduce extracellular stimuli into intracellular responses in eukaryotes. MKK4 plays an important role in abscisic acid-induced catalase[1] expression and H2O2 production[32], while MKK5 can be induced by pathogen infection, abiotic stresses and multiple defense-related signaling molecules. A growing body of evidence suggests that there are fewer MKKs than MAPKKKs and MAPKs, suggesting that individual MKKs may function as bifurcation points and are likely to be involved in multiple MAPK cascades in response to a variety of stresses[34]. In addition to those described above, a total of 78 MAPKKK genes and 28 MAPK genes have been identified in the G. raimondii genome[35,36]. The data presented here lay a solid foundation for a deeper understanding of MAPK cascades and for future improvement of various defense responses using the signaling pathways in cotton breeding

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