Genome-wide analyses of the bZIP family reveal their involvement in the development, ripening and abiotic stress response in banana

Abstract

The leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play important roles in multiple biological processes. However, less information is available regarding the bZIP family in the important fruit crop banana. In this study, 121 bZIP transcription factor genes were identified in the banana genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed that MabZIPs were classified into 11 subfamilies. The majority of MabZIP genes in the same subfamily shared similar gene structures and conserved motifs. The comprehensive transcriptome analysis of two banana genotypes revealed the differential expression patterns of MabZIP genes in different organs, in various stages of fruit development and ripening, and in responses to abiotic stresses, including drought, cold, and salt. Interaction networks and co-expression assays showed that group A MabZIP-mediated networks participated in various stress signaling, which was strongly activated in Musa ABB Pisang Awak. This study provided new insights into the complicated transcriptional control of MabZIP genes and provided robust tissue-specific, development-dependent, and abiotic stress-responsive candidate MabZIP genes for potential applications in the genetic improvement of banana cultivars.

Genome-Wide Identification, Phylogeny, and Expressional Profiles of the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase (MAPKKK) Gene Family in Pyropia yezoensis

“…In summary, the different gene family members exhibited great disparities under different dehydration and rehydration stresses. This phenomenon also exists in many higher plants (Wang et al, 2014;Hu et al, 2016). In addition, many cis-acting regulatory elements were identified in response to drought stress, clearly indicating that the PyMAPKKK gene family is involved in dehydration and rehydration, not only at a transcript level but also at a regulatory level.…”

Translating the “Banana Genome” to Delineate Stress Resistance, Dwarfing, Parthenocarpy and Mechanisms of Fruit Ripening

“…Post-genomic research has strongly indicated role of the bZIP transcription factors in fruit development process in many crops (Levi et al, 2006; Costa and Alba, 2010; Rohrmann et al, 2011). Recently, extensive involvement of bZIPs and WRKY in fruit development and post-harvest ripening has been demonstrated (Goel et al, 2016; Hu et al, 2016a) by comparing its expression pattern at different stages of banana development. The high expression levels of MabZIPs in fruit developmental and ripening is postulated to control the fruit quality of banana.…”

“…Commensurate increase in transcription levels was also observed in other plants such as cassava (Hu et al, 2016b), Brachypodium distachyon (Liu and Chu, 2015) and maize (Wei et al, 2012). Post-genomic discovery of bZIPs (Hu et al, 2016a), microRNAs (Chai et al, 2015) along with key metabolites (Pandey et al, 2016) is expected to expedite the molecular breeding process by ushering in, understanding the role, these transcription factors in signal transduction, developmental processes and responses to abiotic stress in banana.…”

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the β-amylase genes strongly associated with fruit development, ripening, and abiotic stress response in two banana cultivars

“…Meanwhile as a large annual monocotyledonous herbaceous plant, banana production is frequently destroyed by various abiotic stresses during growth and development, such as cold, salt and drought [26][27][28] . Thus, investigations of key candidate genes involved in fruit development and responses to multiple stresses, based on complete genome sequences, are necessary to improve quality and enhance stresses tolerance [29,30] . However, few studies on identification and characterization of banana genes based on genome sequencing data have been reported [30] .…”

“…Thus, investigations of key candidate genes involved in fruit development and responses to multiple stresses, based on complete genome sequences, are necessary to improve quality and enhance stresses tolerance [29,30] . However, few studies on identification and characterization of banana genes based on genome sequencing data have been reported [30] . To our knowledge, only one BAM gene has been reported to have been cloned in banana [31] .…”