The small regulatory C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE (CEP) peptide family plays crucial roles in plant growth and stress response. However, little is known about this peptide family in Brassica species. Here, we performed a systematic analysis to identify the putative
Brassica rapa
L.
CEP
(
BrCEP
) gene family. In total, 27
BrCEP
genes were identified and they were classified into four subgroups based on the CEP motifs similarity.
BrCEP
genes displayed distinct expression patterns in response to both developmental and several environmental signals, suggesting their broad roles during
Brassica rapa
development. Furthuremore, the synthetic BrCEP3 peptide accelerated
Brassica rapa
primary root growth in a hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) and Ca
2+
dependent manner. In summary, our work will provide fundamental insights into the physiological function of CEP peptides during
Brassica rapa
development.
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most important vegetable crops worldwide; however, environmental stressors severely restrict tomato growth and yield. Therefore, it is of great interest to discover novel regulators to improve tomato growth and environmental stress adaptions. Here, we applied a comprehensive bioinformatics approach to identify putative tomato C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE (CEP) genes and to explore their potential physiological function in tomato root development and abiotic stress responses. A total of 17 tomato CEP genes were identified and grouped into two subgroups based on the similarity of CEP motifs. The public RNA-Seq data revealed that tomato CEP genes displayed a diverse expression pattern in tomato tissues. Additionally, CEP genes expression was differentially regulated by nitrate or ammonium status in roots and shoots, respectively. The differences in expression levels of CEP genes induced by nitrogen indicate a potential involvement of CEPs in tomato nitrogen acquisition. The synthetic CEP peptides promoted tomato primary root growth, which requires nitric oxide (NO) and calcium signaling. Furthermore, we also revealed that CEP peptides improved tomato root resistance to salinity. Overall, our work will contribute to provide novel genetic breeding strategies for tomato cultivation under adverse environments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.