Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the 14-3-3 gene family in soybean (Glycine max)

Abstract

In eukaryotes, proteins encoded by the 14-3-3 genes are ubiquitously involved in the plant growth and development. The 14-3-3 gene family has been identified in several plants. In the present study, we identified 22 GmGF14 genes in the soybean genomic data. On the basis of the evolutionary analysis, they were clustered into ε and non-ε groups. The GmGF14s of two groups were highly conserved in motifs and gene structures. RNA-seq analysis suggested that GmGF14 genes were the major regulator of soybean morphogenesis. Moreover, the expression level of most GmGF14s changed obviously in multiple stress responses (drought, salt and cold), suggesting that they have the abilities of responding to multiple stresses. Taken together, this study shows that soybean 14-3-3s participate in plant growth and can response to various environmental stresses. These results provide important information for further understanding of the functions of 14-3-3 genes in soybean.

Genome-Wide Identification of the VQ Protein Gene Family of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and Analysis of Its Expression in Response to Phytohormones and Abiotic and Biotic Stresses

“…Notably, motif 1 corresponds to the VQ-containing motif, the common one in all NtVQ proteins, and may give specific biological function to VQ proteins in tobacco plants. These results are similar to the findings in tomato [24] and soybean [22]. Furthermore, the similarities in the motif composition of the NtVQ proteins are consistent with the results of the phylogenetic analysis, and the distinctions among the different groups/subgroups indicate that the function of the NtVQ members varies [16,22].…”

“…The Ka/Ks ratios in the various gene pairs are different, and Ka/Ks ratios of all the gene pairs are less than 1, suggesting these gene pairs underwent purifying selection pressure. The above analysis indicates that VQ proteins were highly conserved during evolution and evolved slowly, similar to what was reported on the evolutionary rates of VQ proteins in soybean [22].…”

“…Analysis of the phylogenic tree of tobacco VQ proteins has shown that the clades are similar to those described for Arabidopsis [11] and tomato [24]. Tobacco NtVQ protein has an average of 223.5 amino acids, which is similar to the known VQ protein in many plants, where most of the VQ genes encode fewer than 300 amino acids, including Arabidopsis [11], rice [12], maize [16], Moso bamboo [18], apple [20], poplar [15], Chinese Cabbage [14], soybean [22], tomato [24], tea [23], and so on. On the contrary, four genes (NtVQ11, NtVQ12, NtVQ20, and NtVQ23) encode protein of more than or equal to 400 amino acids.…”

“…There are six variations of the conserved VQ motif among the 59 NtVQ proteins: FxxxVQxLTG (33/59), FxxxVQxFTG (10/59), FxxxVQxVTG (4/59), FxxxVQxYTG (3/59), FxxxVQxLTA (6/59), FxxxVQxLTV (2/59). In previous studies, it was known that there are six types of motifs in Arabidopsis (LTG, FTG, VTG, YTG, LTS, and LTD) [11], six types in maize (LTG, FTG, VTG, ITG, ATG, and LTA) [16], four types in rice (LTG, FTG, VTG, and ITG) [13], six types in Chinese cabbage (LTG, FTG, VTG, YTG, LTV, and LTS) [14], five types in Moso bamboo (LTG, FTG, VTG, ITG, and LTA) [18], five types in soybean (LTG, FTG, VTG, LTS, and LTR) [22], four types in apple(LTG, FTG, VTG, and LTC) [20], three types in grapevine (LTG, FTG, and VTG) [13] and seven in tomato (LTG, FTG, VTG, LTS, LTA, YTG, and HTG) [24]. Comparing the different variations of conserved VQ domain in the above plant species, we can see LTG, FTG, and VTG are the three most common ones for the VQ domain in plants.…”

“…Among the major transcriptional regulators found in plants are the VQ motif-containing proteins (designated as VQ proteins) that work independently or in combination with other TFs to regulate diverse plant growth and developmental processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses [10]. The VQ proteins, identified by the presence of a conserved FxxhVQxhTG amino acid motif, have been found in many plant species including both monocotyledons and dicotyledons [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. These proteins are further classified into several types based on the terminal three amino acids in the conserved motifs.…”