Analysis Of GRAS Gene Family Research Articles

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of GRAS gene family in Eucalyptus grandis

BackgroundThe GRAS gene family is a class of plant-specific transcription factors with important roles in many biological processes, such as signal transduction, disease resistance and stress tolerance, plant growth and development. So far, no information available describes the functions of the GRAS genes in Eucalyptus grandis.ResultsA total of 82 GRAS genes were identified with amino acid lengths ranging from 267 to 817 aa, and most EgrGRAS genes had one exon. Members of the GRAS gene family of Eucalyptus grandis are divided into 9 subfamilies with different protein structures, while members of the same subfamily have similar gene structures and conserved motifs. Moreover, these EgrGRAS genes expanded primarily due to segmental duplication. In addition, cis-acting element analysis showed that this family of genes was involved involved in the signal transduction of various plant hormones, growth and development, and stress response. The qRT-PCR data indicated that 18 EgrGRAS genes significantly responded to hormonal and abiotic stresses. Among them, the expression of EgrGRAS13, EgrGRAS68 and EgrGRAS55 genes was significantly up-regulated during the treatment period, and it was hypothesised that members of the EgrGRAS family play an important role in stress tolerance.ConclusionsIn this study, the phylogenetic relationship, conserved domains, cis-elements and expression patterns of GRAS gene family of Eucalyptus grandis were analyzed, which filled the gap in the identification of GRAS gene family of Eucalyptus grandis and laid the foundation for analyzing the function of EgrGRAS gene in hormone and stress response.

Genome-wide identification, evolution and transcriptome analysis of GRAS gene family in Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima).

GRAS transcription factors play an important role in regulating various biological processes in plant growth and development. However, their characterization and potential function are still vague in Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima), an important nut with rich nutrition and high economic value. In this study, 48 CmGRAS genes were identified in Chinese chestnut genome and phylogenetic analysis divided CmGRAS genes into nine subfamilies, and each of them has distinct conserved structure domain and features. Genomic organization revealed that CmGRAS tend to have a representative GRAS domain and fewer introns. Tandem duplication had the greatest contribution for the CmGRAS expansion based on the comparative genome analysis, and CmGRAS genes experienced strong purifying selection pressure based on the Ka/Ks. Gene expression analysis revealed some CmGRAS members with potential functions in bud development and ovule fertility. CmGRAS genes with more homologous relationships with reference species had more cis-acting elements and higher expression levels. Notably, the lack of DELLA domain in members of the DELLA subfamily may cause de functionalization, and the differences between the three-dimensional structures of them were exhibited. This comprehensive study provides theoretical and practical basis for future research on the evolution and function of GRAS gene family.

Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization, and Expression Analysis of GRAS Gene Family in Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe).

GRAS family proteins are one of the most abundant transcription factors in plants; they play crucial roles in plant development, metabolism, and biotic- and abiotic-stress responses. The GRAS family has been identified and functionally characterized in some plant species. However, this family in ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a medicinal crop and non-prescription drug, remains unknown to date. In the present study, 66 GRAS genes were identified by searching the complete genome sequence of ginger. The GRAS family is divided into nine subfamilies based on the phylogenetic analyses. The GRAS genes are distributed unevenly across 11 chromosomes. By analyzing the gene structure and motif distribution of GRAS members in ginger, we found that the GRAS genes have more than one cis-acting element. Chromosomal location and duplication analysis indicated that whole-genome duplication, tandem duplication, and segmental duplication may be responsible for the expansion of the GRAS family in ginger. The expression levels of GRAS family genes are different in ginger roots and stems, indicating that these genes may have an impact on ginger development. In addition, the GRAS genes in ginger showed extensive expression patterns under different abiotic stresses, suggesting that they may play important roles in the stress response. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of GRAS members in ginger for the first time, which will help to better explore the function of GRAS genes in the regulation of tissue development and response to stress in ginger.

Comprehensive Analysis of GRAS Gene Family and Their Expression under GA3, Drought Stress and ABA Treatment in Larix kaempferi

The GRAS family transcription factors play important roles in regulating plant growth and responses to abiotic stress, which can be utilized to breed novel plants with improved abiotic stress resistance. However, the GRAS gene family has been largely unexplored for tree species, particularly for Larix kaempferi, which has high economic and ecological values, challenging practices for breeding abiotic stress-resistant L. kaempferi. In order to improve the stress resistance by regulating the transcription factors in L. kaempferi, we identified 11 GRAS genes in L. kaempferi and preliminarily characterized them through comprehensive analyses of phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, promoter cis-elements, and expression patterns, as well as protein interaction network prediction. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the LkGRAS family proteins were classified into four subfamilies, including DELLA, HAM, SCL, and PAT1, among which the SCL subfamily was the largest one. Conserved motif analysis revealed many putative motifs such as LHRI-VHIID-LHRII-PFYRE-SAW at C-terminals of the LkGRAS proteins; we discovered a unique motif of the LkGRAS genes. Promoter cis-acting element analysis exhibited several putative elements associated with abiotic stresses and phytohormones; the abscisic acid-responsive elements (ABRE) and G-box are the most enriched elements in the promoters. Through expression profiles of LkGRAS genes in different tissues and under drought-stress and phytohormones (GA3 and ABA) treatments, it was demonstrated that LkGRAS genes are most active in the needles, and they rapidly respond to environmental cues such as drought-stress and phytohormone treatments within 24 h. Protein interaction network prediction analysis revealed that LkGRAS proteins interact with various proteins, among which examples are the typical GA, ABA, and drought-stress signaling factors. Taken together, our work identifies the novel LkGRAS gene family in L. kaempferi and provides preliminary information for further in-depth functional characterization studies and practices of breeding stress-resistant L. kaempferi.

Evolutionary analysis of GRAS gene family for functional and structural insights into hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)

GRAS proteins are multi-functional, regulating various aspects of plant growth and development. Besides, they are also involved in the stress tolerance of plants. Wheat is one of the major cereal crops of the world and efforts are being made to boost its productivity and stress tolerance to feed the increasing world population. Being a physiologically important transcription factor, GRAS genes can open up new avenues for improvement in wheat. The recent availability of the hexaploid genome sequence of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) provides us an excellent opportunity to analyse the GRAS gene family and gain functional insights. In this study, we identified 183 GRAS genes coding for 194 GRAS proteins. Chromosomal location was identified for all the genes to give some idea about gene duplications. Sequence alignment, followed by phylogenetic analysis helped to classify the TaGRAS genes in 12 subfamilies. Gene and protein structure analysis revealed conservation among the different sub-families. Transcriptome analysis was done using available databases, to reveal the expression pattern under developmental conditions as well as different stress conditions. Altogether, these datasets give important insights into the functional role of different GRAS family members of bread wheat. Besides, it provides an important resource for future investigations into the physiological role of GRAS genes in bread wheat. Finally, this study identified potentially important TaGRAS genes which may help to boost yields and stress tolerance of wheat via control of various physiological aspects.

Genome-wide identification, structural analysis and expression profiles of GRAS gene family in orchardgrass.

The GRAS gene family is a family of transcription factors that regulates plant growth and development. Despite being well-studied in many plant species, little is known about this gene family in orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), one of the top four economically important perennial forage grasses cultivated worldwide. We identified 46 GRAS genes in orchardgrass and analyzed their characteristics by phylogenetic, gene structural, motifs and expression patterns analysis. The phylogenetic analysis of eight species revealed that DgGRAS family had the evolutional conservation and closer homology relationship with the GRAS family of rice, barley and Brachypodium distachyon. Moreover, 46 DgGRAS proteins were divided into eight subfamilies based on the tree topology and rice or Arabidopsis classification, and LISCL subfamily was the largest one. Besides, we found that the motif 15 may be unique to the orchardgrass LISCL subfamily, and the motif 6 and motif 17 had indispensable functions in the orchardgrass LISCL subfamily. We further analyzed the expression profiles of DgGRAS genes at mature and seeding stage. And we found that DgGRAS17 played an important role in the growth and development no matter what stage it was at. DgGRAS5, DgGRAS28, DgGRAS31, DgGRAS42 and DgGRAS44 got involved in processes of the growth and development at seeding stage instead of mature stage. These results indicated that the major expression patterns and detailed functions of the DgGRAS genes varied with developmental stages. Taken together, this is the first systematic analysis of the GRAS gene family in the orchardgrass genome and the results provide insights into the potential functions of GRAS genes.

Genome-wide characterization and expression analysis of GRAS gene family in pepper (Capsicum annuumL.)

Plant-specific GRAS transcription factors regulate various biological processes in plant growth, development and stress responses. However, this important gene family was not fully characterized in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), an economically important vegetable crop. Here, a total of 50 CaGRAS members were identified in pepper genome and renamed by their respective chromosomal distribution. Genomic organization revealed that most CaGRAS genes (84%) have no intron. Phylogenetic analysis divided pepper CaGRAS members into 10 subfamilies, with each having distinct conserved domains and functions. For the expansion of the GRAS genes in pepper, segmental duplication contributed more than tandem duplication did. Gene expression analysis in various tissues demonstrated that most of CaGRAS genes exhibited a tissue- and development stage-specific expression pattern, uncovering their potential functions in pepper growth and development. Moreover, 21 CaGRAS genes were differentially expressed under cold, drought, salt and gibberellin acid (GA) treatments, indicating that they may implicated in plant response to abiotic stress. Notably, GA responsive cis-elements were detected in the promoter regions of the majority of CaGRAS genes, suggesting that CaGRAS may involve in signal cross-talking. The first comprehensive analysis of GRAS gene family in pepper genome by this study provide insights into understanding the GRAS-mediated regulation network, benefiting the genetic improvements in pepper and some other relative plants.

Identification, Classification, and Expression Analysis of GRAS Gene Family in Malus domestica.

GRAS genes encode plant-specific transcription factors that play important roles in plant growth and development. However, little is known about the GRAS gene family in apple. In this study, 127 GRAS genes were identified in the apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) genome and named MdGRAS1 to MdGRAS127 according to their chromosomal locations. The chemical characteristics, gene structures and evolutionary relationships of the MdGRAS genes were investigated. The 127 MdGRAS genes could be grouped into eight subfamilies based on their structural features and phylogenetic relationships. Further analysis of gene structures, segmental and tandem duplication, gene phylogeny and tissue-specific expression with ArrayExpress database indicated their diversification in quantity, structure and function. We further examined the expression pattern of MdGRAS genes during apple flower induction with transcriptome sequencing. Eight higher MdGRAS (MdGRAS6, 26, 28, 44, 53, 64, 107, and 122) genes were surfaced. Further quantitative reverse transcription PCR indicated that the candidate eight genes showed distinct expression patterns among different tissues (leaves, stems, flowers, buds, and fruits). The transcription levels of eight genes were also investigated with various flowering related treatments (GA3, 6-BA, and sucrose) and different flowering varieties (Yanfu No. 6 and Nagafu No. 2). They all were affected by flowering-related circumstance and showed different expression level. Changes in response to these hormone or sugar related treatments indicated their potential involvement during apple flower induction. Taken together, our results provide rich resources for studying GRAS genes and their potential clues in genetic improvement of apple flowering, which enriches biological theories of GRAS genes in apple and their involvement in flower induction of fruit trees.

Genome-wide identification, phylogeny and expression analysis of GRAS gene family in tomato.

BackgroundGRAS transcription factors usually act as integrators of multiple growth regulatory and environmental signals, including axillary shoot meristem formation, root radial pattering, phytohormones, light signaling, and abiotic/biotic stress. However, little is known about this gene family in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), the most important model plant for crop species with fleshy fruits.ResultsIn this study, 53 GRAS genes were identified and renamed based on tomato whole-genome sequence and their respective chromosome distribution except 19 members were kept as their already existed name. Multiple sequence alignment showed typical GRAS domain in these proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of GRAS proteins from tomato, Arabidopsis, Populus, P.mume, and Rice revealed that SlGRAS proteins could be divided into at least 13 subfamilies. SlGRAS24 and SlGRAS40 were identified as target genes of miR171 using5’-RACE (Rapid amplification of cDNA ends). qRT-PCR analysis revealed tissue-/organ- and development stage-specific expression patterns of SlGRAS genes. Moreover, their expression patterns in response to different hormone and abiotic stress treatments were also investigated.ConclusionsThis study provides the first comprehensive analysis of GRAS gene family in the tomato genome. The data will undoubtedly be useful for better understanding the potential functions of GRAS genes, and their possible roles in mediating hormone cross-talk and abiotic stress in tomato as well as in some other relative species.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0590-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Discovery and analysis of GRAS gene family in Isatis indigotica

Discovery and analysis of GRAS gene family in Isatis indigotica