Genome-wide bioinformatics analysis revealed putative substrate specificities of SABATH and MES family members in silver birch (Betula pendula)

Abstract

Plant SABATH family members catalyze the methylation of many hormones, signaling molecules, and floral scent metabolites, including salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and indol-3 acetic acid (IAA). Demethylation of resulting methyl esters was executed by members of the MES family. Members of both families are significantly involved in plant developmental processes. Here, using different bioinformatics tools, we studied the evolutionary relationship and characterized the putative functions of the family members in silver birch (Betula pendula). It is a socio-ecologically important tree species and plays a vital role in reforestation. Ten and twelve members of the SABATH (BpSABATH1-10) and MES (BpMES1-12) family were identified in silver birch, respectively at the gene and enzyme levels. The BpSABATH and BpMES genes were distributed on seven of fourteen chromosomes, indicating the occurrence of moderate duplication events important for the expansion of both families. Phylogenetic clustering and the gene ontology database suggest, BpSA-BATH8 is involved in the methylation of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), while BpSABATH5, BpSABATH6, and BpSABATH7 methylate JA to methyl jasmonate (MeJA). BpSABATH9 was alone in the phylogenetic functional group 1 and prefers SA as a substrate to synthesize methyl salicylate (MeSA). Likewise, BpMES5 and BpMES12 are possibly involved in the demethylation of the methyl ester of IAA, while BpMES6, BpMES7, and BpMES8 are responsible for the demethylation of MeJA. BpMES9 clustered with MES and prefers MeSA as a substrate. The current analysis helped to select candidate genes that could be subjected to further molecular breeding of birch varieties adapted to biotic and abiotic stress conditions.

Analysis of Methylesterase Gene Family in Fragaria vesca Unveils Novel Insights into the Role of FvMES2 in Methyl Salicylate-Mediated Resistance against Strawberry Gray Mold

“…The inherent stability of this structure ensures that plants can maintain various biological functions in the face of diverse environmental conditions and physiological requirements. Homologs of MES genes harboring the conserved catalytic triad have been identified in potato, grape, peach, tomato, poplar, birch, and numerous other plant species. ,,,,, Certain MES members participate in the metabolism and signal transduction of different hormones, thereby regulating plant growth and development. In peach, most of the MES genes were also found to exhibit high expression in fruits tissues, while poplar PtSABP2 and Arabidopsis AtMES17 were predominantly expressed in roots. , The results of this research suggest that the FvMES gene family members display varied expression patterns throughout different stages of development and in various tissues of the plant.…”

Methyl salicylate as a signaling compound that contributes to forest ecosystem stability

“…Extensive genomic analysis revealed that SAMT and SABP2 enzymes belong to the SABATH and MES families, respectively (D'Auria et al 2003;Yang et al 2008). Both families were recently studied in silver birch (Betula pendula) (Singewar et al 2021). Plant SABATH and MES family members catalyze methylation and demethylation of many hormones, signaling molecules, and floral scent metabolites, including SA, JA, and IAA.…”