Abstract
Multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) transporters contribute to multidrug resistance and play major determinants of aluminum (Al) tolerance in plants. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most extensively cultivated forage crop in the world, yet most alfalfa cultivars are not Al tolerant. The basic knowledge of the MATE transcripts family and the characterisation of specific MATE members involved in alfalfa Al stress remain unclear. In this study, 88 alfalfa MATE (MsMATE) transporters were identified at the whole transcriptome level. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into four subfamilies comprising 11 subgroups. Generally, five kinds of motifs were found in group G1, and most were located at the N-terminus, which might confer these genes with Al detoxification functions. Furthermore, 10 putative Al detoxification-related MsMATE genes were identified and the expression of five genes was significantly increased after Al treatment, indicating that these genes might play important roles in conferring Al tolerance to alfalfa. Considering the limited functional understanding of MATE transcripts in alfalfa, our findings will be valuable for the functional investigation and application of this family in alfalfa.
Highlights
Aluminum (Al) is the third most predominant inorganic monomeric component in the outside layer
Identification of MsMATE transporters To identify the MsMATE transporters in alfalfa, the previously identified Multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) proteins in several model plant species were used as a query to search the alfalfa transcriptome dataset
The open reading frame (ORF) of these genes were varied in length from 321 (MsMATE14) to 1,788 (MsMATE20) bp, and the predicted protein products ranged from 106 to 595 amino acids of length with molecular weight (Mw) varying from 11.61 to 65.3 kDa, containing 0–12 TMs, the protein grand average of hydropathy varying from 0.358 (MsMATE06) to 1.159 (MsMATE22)
Summary
Aluminum (Al) is the third most predominant inorganic monomeric component in the outside layer. Many Al-accumulating plants, such as Melastoma malabathricum and buckwheat, possess the inner Al detoxification ability to form the development of metal and accumulating them in the above-ground herbage (Ma, Ryan & Delhaize, 2001; Zheng et al, 2005) Another mechanism of Al tolerance in plants involves Al initiation of membrane transporters that intercede organic acid (OA; such as malate, citrate, and oxalate) exclusion from the root apex and form non-toxic complexes with rhizosphere aluminium (Kochian, Hoekenga & Piñeros, 2004; Sade et al, 2016). The root apex has recommended to role in Al tolerance, which is related to serious changes in the root system, including cell differentiation in root tips and lateral roots, increasing cell wall inflexibility, interfering with several enzymes, reducing DNA replication, modifying the structure and capacity of plasma membranes, and disrupting signal transduction pathways (Sade et al, 2016; Zheng et al, 2005)
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