Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the Mitochondrial Transcription Termination Factors (mTERFs) in Capsicum annuum L.

Abstract

Mitochondrial transcription termination factors (mTERFs) regulate the expression of mitochondrial genes and are closely related to the function of the mitochondrion and chloroplast. In this study, the mTERF gene family in capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.) was identified and characterized through genomic and bioinformatic analyses. Capsicum was found to possess at least 35 mTERF genes (CamTERFs), which were divided into eight major groups following phylogenetic analysis. Analysis of CamTERF promoters revealed the presence of many cis-elements related to the regulation of cellular respiration and photosynthesis. In addition, CamTERF promoters contained cis-elements related to phytohormone regulation and stress responses. Differentially expressed genes in different tissues and developmental phases were identified using RNA-seq data, which revealed that CamTERFs exhibit various expression and co-expression patterns. Gene ontology (GO) annotations associated CamTERFs primarily with mitochondrion and chloroplast function and composition. These results contribute towards understanding the role of mTERFs in capsicum growth, development, and stress responses. Moreover, our data assist in the identification of CamTERFs with important functions, which opens avenues for future studies.

Identification, characterization and functional analysis of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) Mitochondrial Transcription Termination Factor (mTERF) genes in responding to biotic stress and exogenous phytohormone

“…Among the phytohormones, It has been reported that ABA widely involved in various biological function, biotic and abiotic stress [52][53][54], while plant hormone Eth, SA and MeJA have synergistic effects on biological stress signals after pathogen infection [55]. Our results revealed that the grape mTERF genes responded to the expression patterns of different plant hormones, and these results were consistent with previous studies in other species such as maize and capsicum mTERF genes [40,47].…”

“…In our study based on the chromosome locations, motifs and sequences, we concluded that some of the VvmTERF genes such as VvmTERF3-4 and VvmTERF8-11 might arise by tandem duplications. Genome duplications leading to rearrangement and extension of the mTERF gene family have been reported in other plant species [19,40,47], and these duplication events helped expansion of the Arabidopsis genome genes [48]. Some of the Arabidopsis mTERF genes were considered to be generated by tandem duplications and one block duplication [18,19].…”

“…A number of studies on identi cation of plant mTERFs followed. For example, identi cation and functional analysis of mTERF gene family were reported in maize and capsicum [40,47]. However, information about mTERF functions in plants is still rather limited and thus the plant mTERF genes should be further studied.…”

Genome-Wide Identification and Capsaicinoid Biosynthesis-Related Expression Analysis of the R2R3-MYB Gene Family in Capsicum annuum L.

“…In the pepper genome, however, gene families have been widely identified via incomplete annotation files. A total of 104 CaNAC genes ( Diao et al, 2018 ), 35 mTERF genes ( CamTERF s) ( Tang et al, 2019 ), nine CaCBL , and 26 CaCIPK genes in the pepper genome ( Ma et al, 2019 ). Here, 108 CaR2R3-MYB s were identified in both the CM334 and Zunla-1 genome, less than those identified in Arabidopsis thaliana ( Stracke et al, 2001 ).…”

Identification, characterization and functional analysis of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) genes in responding to biotic stress and exogenous phytohormone

“…In our study, based on the chromosome locations, motifs and sequences, we concluded that some of the VvmTERF genes such as VvmTERF3–4 and VvmTERF8–11 might arise by tandem duplications. This leads to rearrangement and extension of the mTERF gene family, reported in other plant species [ 20 , 28 , 42 ], such as Arabidopsis genome [ 43 ]. Some of the Arabidopsis mTERF genes were considered to be generated by tandem duplications and one block duplication [ 19 , 20 ].…”