Genome-wide identification and comparative analysis of the heat shock transcription factor family in Chinese white pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) and five other Rosaceae species

Abstract

BackgroundHeat shock transcription factors (Hsfs), which act as important transcriptional regulatory proteins in eukaryotes, play a central role in controlling the expression of heat-responsive genes. At present, the genomes of Chinese white pear (‘Dangshansuli’) and five other Rosaceae fruit crops have been fully sequenced. However, information about the Hsfs gene family in these Rosaceae species is limited, and the evolutionary history of the Hsfs gene family also remains unresolved.ResultsIn this study, 137 Hsf genes were identified from six Rosaceae species (Pyrus bretschneideri, Malus × domestica, Prunus persica, Fragaria vesca, Prunus mume, and Pyrus communis), 29 of which came from Chinese white pear, designated as PbHsf. Based on the structural characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of these sequences, the Hsf family genes could be classified into three main groups (classes A, B, and C). Segmental and dispersed duplications were the primary forces underlying Hsf gene family expansion in the Rosaceae. Most of the PbHsf duplicated gene pairs were dated back to the recent whole-genome duplication (WGD, 30–45 million years ago (MYA)). Purifying selection also played a critical role in the evolution of Hsf genes. Transcriptome data demonstrated that the expression levels of the PbHsf genes were widely different. Six PbHsf genes were upregulated in fruit under naturally increased temperature.ConclusionA comprehensive analysis of Hsf genes was performed in six Rosaceae species, and 137 full length Hsf genes were identified. The results presented here will undoubtedly be useful for better understanding the complexity of the Hsf gene family and will facilitate functional characterization in future studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-014-0401-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genome-Wide Investigation of Heat Shock Transcription Factor Family in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and Possible Roles in Anther Development

“…The first HSF gene found in plants was cloned in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) [12] and the HSF gene family have now been characterized in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), rice (Oryza sativa) [13], maize (Zea mays) [14], soybean (Glycine max) [15], chickpea (Cicer arietinum) [16], and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) [17], as well as in vegetables including Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) [18] and pepper (Capsicum annuum) [19], and fruits such as apple (Malus domestica) [20] and pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) [21]. In addition to the Hsf s involved in the regulation of heat-resistance mechanism studied in Arabidopsis [22,23], many Hsfs have been found to participate in other responses in various plant species in recent years.…”

Heat shock transcription factor 3 regulates plant immune response through modulation of salicylic acid accumulation and signalling in cassava

“…Hsfs were initially characterized and cloned in yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) (Sorger and Pelham, ), followed by various plants (Huang et al ., ; Singh et al ., ; Yabuta, ). With the genome sequencing of more and more plant species, the Hsf gene family has been thoroughly identified and characterized in alfalfa (Friedberg et al ., ), Arabidopsis thaliana (Guo et al ., ), rice ( Oryza sativa L.) (Chauhan et al ., ; Jin et al ., ; Wang et al ., ), maize (Lin et al ., ), Populus trichocarpa and Medicago truncatula (Wang et al ., ), Glycine max (Chung et al ., ), wheat (Chauhan et al ., ), Chinese cabbage (Song et al ., ), pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) (Guo et al ., ), legume (Lin et al ., ), cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) (Wang et al ., ), soybean (Li et al ., ), pear ( Pyrus bretschneideri ) (Qiao et al ., ), Brassica rapa pekinensis (Huang et al ., ), Populus euphratica (Shen et al ., 2015), tea plant ( Camellia sinensis ) (Liu et al ., ), strawberry ( Fragaria vesca ) (Hu Y et al ., ) and wild Chinese grapevine ( Vitis pseudoreticulata ) (Hu et al ., ). So far, plant Hsfs have been found to be widely involved in plant development, heat stress, drought stress, salt stress and the plant disease response (Almoguera et al ., ; Cheng et al ., ; Giesguth et al ., ; Hwang et al ., ; Tanabe et al ., ; Yabuta, ).…”

Identification of Heat Shock Transcription Factor Genes Involved in Thermotolerance of Octoploid Cultivated Strawberry

“…Furthermore, 15–56 HSF members were found in any given plant species, including 25 HSF-encoding genes in rice [17,31], 21 in Arabidopsis [17], 30 in maize [17], 24 in tomato [17,27], 25 in pepper [32], 29 in Chinese white pear [33], 17 in Chinese plum [33], 33 in European pear [33], 17 in peach [33], 52 in soybean [17], and at least 56 in wheat [34]. A diploid woodland strawberry species, Fragaria vesca Coville, whose haploid genome size was approximately 240 Mb, is the smallest among the rosaceous species [35].…”