Abstract

BackgroundThe lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) gene is a plant-specific transcription factor that plays a critical role in diverse biological processes. However, the evolution and functional divergence of the LBD gene family has not yet been characterized for the Chinese White Pear.ResultsIn our study, a total of 60 PbrLBDs were identified in the pear genome. The PbrLBD gene family was divided into two classes based on gene structure and phylogenetic analysis: class I (53) and class II (7). Cis-acting element analysis results suggested that PbrLBDs may participate in various biological processes, such as flavonoid biosynthetic and stress response. Synteny analysis results indicated that segmental duplication played a key role in the expansion of the PbrLBD gene family. The mean Ks and 4DTv values showed that the PbrLBD gene family had undergone only one recent whole-genome duplication event occurring at 30–45 MYA. Purifying selection was a primary force during the PbrLBD gene family evolution process. Transcriptome data analysis revealed that 10 PbrLBDs were expressed in all six examined tissues, and 73.33% of members in the PbrLBD gene family were expressed in pear sepal. qRT-PCR was conducted to verify the expression levels of 11 PbrLBDs in these six tissues. Specifically, PbrLBD20, PbrLBD35 and PbrLBD53 genes were down-regulated when anthocyanin concentrations were high, whereas PbrLBD33 was significantly up-regulated in pear when anthocyanin concentrations were high. Furthermore, PbrLBD20, one of the candidate genes related to anthocyanins was localized in the nucleus.ConclusionsOur analysis provides valuable information for understanding the evolution of the PbrLBD gene family, and provides new insights into the regulation of pear pigment metabolism and lays a foundation for the future disclosure of the molecular mechanism of LBD gene regulating flavonoid metabolism.

Highlights

  • The lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) gene is a plant-specific transcription factor that plays a critical role in diverse biological processes

  • According to the presence/absence of the LX6LX3LX6L leucine zipper-like domain of LBD proteins, 60 PbrLBD genes were divided into two groups: 53 members belonged to class I and 7 members belonged to class II (Additional file 1: Figure S1)

  • This result indicated that these four PbrLBD genes may be involved in light-responsive anthocyanin biosynthesis

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Summary

Introduction

The lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) gene is a plant-specific transcription factor that plays a critical role in diverse biological processes. Lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) genes are plantspecific transcription factors (TFs) that play important roles in the growth and development of plants. They contribute to abiotic stress responses, anthocyanin biosynthesis, Song et al BMC Genomics (2020) 21:644 involved in different roles. One previous study showed that ARF3 (ETTIN/ AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR3) was an important determinant for specification of adaxial cells in leaves, while the expression of ARF3 was directly repressed by AS2 and AS1 [9]. ARL1 encodes a predicted protein containing a LOB domain with a broad range of expression in various tissues, including lateral and adventitious root primordia, tiller primordia, vascular tissues, scutellum and young pedicels It plays an important role in the development of adventitious roots. One study showed that ASL39/LBD37, ASL40/LBD38 and ASL41/ LBD39 were induced by N/NO3−, and negatively regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana [2]

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