Genome-wide identification of multifunctional laccase gene family in cotton (Gossypium spp.); expression and biochemical analysis during fiber development

Abstract

The single-celled cotton fibers, produced from seed coat epidermal cells are the largest natural source of textile fibers. The economic value of cotton fiber lies in its length and quality. The multifunctional laccase enzymes play important roles in cell elongation, lignification and pigmentation in plants and could play crucial role in cotton fiber quality. Genome-wide analysis of cultivated allotetraploid (G. hirsutum) and its progenitor diploid (G. arboreum and G. raimondii) cotton species identified 84, 44 and 46 laccase genes, respectively. Analysis of chromosomal location, phylogeny, conserved domain and physical properties showed highly conserved nature of laccases across three cotton species. Gene expression, enzymatic activity and biochemical analysis of developing cotton fibers was performed using G. arboreum species. Of the total 44, 40 laccases showed expression during different stages of fiber development. The higher enzymatic activity of laccases correlated with higher lignin content at 25 DPA (Days Post Anthesis). Further, analysis of cotton fiber phenolic compounds showed an overall decrease at 25 DPA indicating possible incorporation of these substrates into lignin polymer during secondary cell wall biosynthesis. Overall data indicate significant roles of laccases in cotton fiber development, and presents an excellent opportunity for manipulation of fiber development and quality.

Distribution of cell-wall polysaccharides and proteins during growth of the hemp hypocotyl

“…This is supported by the high number of genes coding for laccases expressed in cotton (several tens), many of which are expressed during the development of cotton fibers. The enzymatic activity of laccases is related to the higher content of lignin at 25 DPA (days post-anthesis) (Balasubramanian et al 2016). In flax, the analysis of genes involved in the biosynthesis of lignin indicated that the multigene family of laccase plays important roles in the polymerization of monolignols and, therefore, in the production of lignin.…”

Genome-Wide Identification of the LAC Gene Family and Its Expression Analysis Under Stress in Brassica napus

“…It might be that their function was not required in biological processes or was only induced. by certain environmental factors, similar genes can also be found in cotton and Sorghum bicolor [13,14].…”

“…Some repeated sequences were manually deleted according to the E-value. All the remaining genes were checked by InterProScan () [46], and the sequences with four essential conserved domains of multicopper oxidase type 1 (IPR001117), multicopper oxidase type 2 (IPR011706), multicopper oxidase type 3 (IPR011707) and laccase (IPR017761) were deemed as candidate LACs [13]. Another BLASTp was performed in A. thaliana genome using candidate BnLACs protein sequences as queries and hold those genes that corresponded to AtLACs .…”

“…In cotton, an ex-planta phytoremediation system was built based on the overexpression of LACs [12]. Forty-four, 46 and 84 LACs were identified from Gossypium arboretum (G. arboretum), Gossypium raimondii (G. raimondii) and Gossypium hirsutum (G. hirsutum) , respectively [13]. A total of 27 laccase candidates ( SbLAC1-SbLAC27 ) were identified in Sorghum bicolor [14].…”

Analysis of the laccase gene family and miR397-/miR408-mediated posttranscriptional regulation in Salvia miltiorrhiza

“…So far, genes encoding LACs have been identified from various plant species, such as Arabidopsis (McCaig, Meagher & Dean, 2005; Turlapati et al, 2011), rice (Liu et al, 2017), tobacco (Richardson & McDougall, 1997), ryegrass (Gavnholt, Larsen & Rasmussen, 2002), cotton (Balasubramanian et al, 2016), poplar (LaFayette, Eriksson & Dean, 1999; Lu et al, 2013), sycamore maple (Sterjiades, Dean & Eriksson, 1992) and pear (Cheng et al, 2019). LAC genes present as a multi-gene family in plants.…”