Abstract
Fertilization is essential to sexual reproduction of flowering plants. EC1 (EGG CELL 1) proteins have a conserved cysteine spacer characteristic and play a crucial role in double fertilization process in many plant species. However, to date, the role of EC1 gene family in cotton is fully unknown. Hence, detailed bioinformatics analysis was explored to elucidate the biological mechanisms of EC1 gene family in cotton. In this study, we identified 66 genes in 10 plant species in which a total of 39 EC1 genes were detected from cotton genome. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the identified EC1 genes into three families (I-III) and all of them contain Prolamin-like domains. A good collinearity was observed in the synteny analysis of the orthologs from cotton genomes. Whole-genome duplication was determined to be one of the major impetuses for the expansion of the EC1 gene family during the process of evolution. qRT-PCR analysis showed that EC1 genes were highly expressed in reproductive tissues under multiple stresses, signifying their potential role in enhancing stress tolerance or responses. Additionally, gene interaction networks showed that EC1 genes may be involved in cell stress and response transcriptional regulator in the synergid cells and activate the expression of genes required for pollen tube guidance. Our results provide novel functional insights into the evolution and functional elucidation of EC1 gene family in cotton.
Highlights
Fertilization is a complex phenomenon containing a series of orchestrating steps
BLASTP analysis was performed to search for egg cell 1 (EC1) genes from two monocotyledons and eight dicotyledons
A total of 39 EC1 genes were identified and were named based on the order of genes located in chromosomes
Summary
Fertilization is a complex phenomenon containing a series of orchestrating steps. In animals, before a spermatozoon can fertilize an oocyte, it undergoes physiological changes, and band to develop a vigorous and intermittent flagellar movement [1,2]. Double fertilization is crucial for the reproduction of flowering plants. Two immobile sperm cells are delivered to the chalazal edge of degenerated synergid cells between two female gametes, and the two sperm cells remain motionless together for a period of time and fuse with egg cell and central cell [4]. Flowering plants have evolved complicated mechanisms to assure and regulate every step during the pollen tube journey and subsequent double fertilization to maximize their reproductive success [6]. There is an egg-specific gene called EC1, it ensures the appropriate localization of the cell-fusion machinery in distinct sperm membrane domains and is involved in the attachment between male and female gametes in fertilized embryo sac and plays an important role in gamete activation [11]. The egg secretes EC1 protein when the sperm arrives to achieve rapid fusion with female gametes and preventing polytubey [12]
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