Molecular Evolution of the Vacuolar Iron Transporter (VIT) Family Genes in 14 Plant Species.

Jun Cao

doi:10.3390/genes10020144

Abstract

The vacuolar iron transporter (VIT) proteins are involved in the storage and transport of iron. However, the evolution of this gene family in plants is unknown. In this study, I first identified 114 VIT genes in 14 plant species and classified these genes into seven groups by phylogenetic analysis. Conserved gene organization and motif distribution implied conserved function in each group. I also found that tandem duplication, segmental duplication and transposition contributed to the expansion of this gene family. Additionally, several positive selection sites were identified. Divergent expression patterns of soybean VIT genes were further investigated in different development stages and under iron stress. Functional network analysis exhibited 211 physical or functional interactions. The results will provide the basis for further functional studies of the VIT genes in plants.

Highlights

IntroductionIron is abundant in the Earth’s crust, most iron is present in the insoluble ferric form, which is not available for biological purposes [2,3]
As an essential microelement, iron (Fe) is involved in several important cellular processes in plants, including photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, respiration, and DNA and hormone synthesis [1]. iron is abundant in the Earth’s crust, most iron is present in the insoluble ferric form, which is not available for biological purposes [2,3]
To better understand how the vacuolar iron transporter (VIT) gene family evolved in the 14 plants species, the number of VIT genes in the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) was estimated

Summary

Introduction

Iron is abundant in the Earth’s crust, most iron is present in the insoluble ferric form, which is not available for biological purposes [2,3]. To overcome this barrier, plants have evolved two strategies (I and II) for iron acquisition. Strategy II plants are all graminaceous monocots These plants first release Fe3+ -specific phytosiderophores (PS) to form Fe3+ -PS chelate complex, and absorb this complex into root cells via the yellow stripe 1 transporter [9,10]

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Results

Conclusion