Summary• LHY/CCA1 genes play a key role in the plant circadian clock system and are highly conserved among plant species. However, the evolutionary process of the LHY/ CCA1 gene family remains unclear in angiosperms. To obtain details of the phylogeny of these genes, this study characterized LHY/CCA1 genes in a model woody plant, Populus tree.• The evolutionary process of angiosperm LHY/CCA1 genes was elucidated using three approaches: comparison of exon-intron structures, reconstruction of phylogenetic trees and examination of syntenic relationships. In addition, the molecular evolutionary rates and the expression patterns of Populus LHYs were analyzed.• Gene duplication events of Populus LHYs and Arabidopsis LHY/CCA1 had occurred independently by different chromosomal duplication events arising in each evolutionary lineage. Populus LHYs were under purifying selection by estimating substitution rates of these genes. Further, Populus LHYs conserved diurnal expressions in leaves and stems but the transcripts of LHY2 were more abundant than those of LHY1 in Populus plants.• This study uncovered phylogenetic relationships of the LHY/CCA1 gene family in angiosperms. In addition, the transcript abundance and the evolutionary differences between Populus LHY1 and LHY2 imply that Populus LHY2, rather than LHY1, may have a major role in the Populus clock system.
BackgroundPlant circadian clocks regulate many photoperiodic and diurnal responses that are conserved among plant species. The plant circadian clock system has been uncovered in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, using genetics and systems biology approaches. However, it is still not clear how the clock system had been organized in the evolutionary history of plants. We recently revealed the molecular phylogeny of LHY/CCA1 genes, one of the essential components of the clock system. The aims of this study are to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of angiosperm clock-associated PRR genes, the partner of the LHY/CCA1 genes, and to clarify the evolutionary history of the plant clock system in angiosperm lineages.ResultsIn the present study, to investigate the molecular phylogeny of PRR genes, we performed two approaches: reconstruction of phylogenetic trees and examination of syntenic relationships. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that PRR genes had diverged into three clades prior to the speciation of monocots and eudicots. Furthermore, copy numbers of PRR genes have been independently increased in monocots and eudicots as a result of ancient chromosomal duplication events.ConclusionsBased on the molecular phylogenies of both PRR genes and LHY/CCA1 genes, we inferred the evolutionary process of the plant clock system in angiosperms. This scenario provides evolutionary information that a common ancestor of monocots and eudicots had retained the basic components required for reconstructing a clock system and that the plant circadian clock may have become a more elaborate mechanism after the speciation of monocots and eudicots because of the gene expansion that resulted from polyploidy events.
Lignocellulose, composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, in the secondary cell wall constitutes wood and is the most abundant form of biomass on Earth. Enhancement of wood accumulation may be an effective strategy to increase biomass as well as wood strength, but currently only limited research has been undertaken. Here, we demonstrated that OsSWN1, the orthologue of the rice NAC Secondary-wall Thickening factor (NST) transcription factor, effectively enhanced secondary cell wall formation in the Arabidopsis inflorescence stem and poplar (Populus tremula×Populus tremuloides) stem when expressed by the Arabidopsis NST3 promoter. Interestingly, in transgenic Arabidopsis and poplar, ectopic secondary cell wall deposition in the pith area was observed in addition to densification of the secondary cell wall in fiber cells. The cell wall content or density of the stem increased on average by up to 38% and 39% in Arabidopsis and poplar, respectively, without causing growth inhibition. As a result, physical strength of the stem increased by up to 57% in poplar. Collectively, these data suggest that the reinforcement of wood by NST3pro:OsSWN1 is a promising strategy to enhance wood-biomass production in dicotyledonous plant species.
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