In Silico Functional Prediction and Expression Analysis of C2H2 Zinc-Finger Family Transcription Factor Revealed Regulatory Role of ZmZFP126 in Maize Growth

Abstract

The C2H2-zinc finger proteins (ZFP) comprise a large family of transcription factors with various functions in biological processes. In maize, the function regulation of C2H2- zine finger (ZF) genes are poorly understood. We conducted an evolution analysis and functional prediction of the maize C2H2-ZF gene family. Furthermore, the ZmZFP126 gene has been cloned and sequenced for further favorable allelic variation discovery. The phylogenetic analysis of the C2H2-ZF domain indicated that the position and sequence of the C2H2-ZF domain of the poly-zinc finger gene are relatively conserved during evolution, and the C2H2-ZF domain with the same position is highly conserved. The expression analysis of the C2H2-ZF gene family in 11 tissues at different growth stages of B73 inbred lines showed that genes with multiple transcripts were endowed with more functions. The expression analysis of the C2H2-ZF gene in P1 and P2 inbred lines under drought conditions showed that the C2H2-ZF genes were mainly subjected to negative regulation under drought stress. Functional prediction indicated that the maize C2H2-ZF gene is mainly involved in reproduction and development, especially concerning the formation of important agronomic traits in maize yield. Furthermore, sequencing and correlation analysis of the ZmZFP126 gene indicated that this gene was significantly associated with the SDW-NAP and TDW-NAP. The analysis of the relationship between maize C2H2-ZF genes and C2H2-ZF genes with known functions indicated that the functions of some C2H2-ZF genes are relatively conservative, and the functions of homologous genes in different species are similar.

Genome-Wide Association Study for Grain Protein, Thousand Kernel Weight, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…In rice, the CCCH-type zinc finger protein ( OsGZF1 ) regulates the GluB-1 promoter, a seed storage protein, and controls the accumulation of glutelin protein during grain development [ 60 ]. The C2H2 zinc finger family transcription factor regulated grain-related traits in maize [ 61 ]. Further, AX-95199688 associated with GPC encodes the aspartic peptidase domain (TraesCS7A02G208600) and was found to have a role in gluten breakdown.…”

Genetic dissection of grain iron and zinc, and thousand kernel weight in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using genome-wide association study

“…Another SNP ( AX-95117294 ) encoding C3H4 type zinc finger protein (TraesCS5D02G188300) was associated with the expression of TKW. Functional prediction of maize C2H2—zinc finger gene revealed its involvement mainly in the formation of important agronomic traits in maize yield 89 .…”

Heat Stress-Mediated Constraints in Maize (Zea mays) Production: Challenges and Solutions

“…Maize ( Zea mays ) is an important cereal crop that belongs to the Poaceae family ( Li et al, 2022 ) and has ensured global food security with a worldwide production ≥1 × 10 9 t (10 12 kg) since 2013 ( Faostat, 2017 ). Maize was initially cultivated in tropical areas under rainfed conditions ( Li J. et al, 2021 ; Maitra et al, 2021 ). However, there is an increased demand for maize due to its utilization of carbohydrates as biomass for ethanol fuel production, leaves and stem as livestock fodder, grains as raw material in the baking industry, and food and feed crop in many countries ( Rooney et al, 2007 ; Parmar et al, 2017 ; Dar et al, 2021 ).…”