Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades in Vitis vinifera

Abstract

Protein phosphorylation is one of the most important mechanisms to control cellular functions in response to external and endogenous signals. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) are universal signaling molecules in eukaryotes that mediate the intracellular transmission of extracellular signals resulting in the induction of appropriate cellular responses. MAPK cascades are composed of four protein kinase modules: MAPKKK kinases (MAPKKKKs), MAPKK kinases (MAPKKKs), MAPK kinases (MAPKKs), and MAPKs. In plants, MAPKs are activated in response to abiotic stresses, wounding, and hormones, and during plant pathogen interactions and cell division. In this report, we performed a complete inventory of MAPK cascades genes in Vitis vinifera, the whole genome of which has been sequenced. By comparison with MAPK, MAPK kinases, MAPK kinase kinases and MAPK kinase kinase kinase kinase members of Arabidopsis thaliana, we revealed the existence of 14 MAPKs, 5 MAPKKs, 62 MAPKKKs, and 7 MAPKKKKs in Vitis vinifera. We identified orthologs of V. vinifera putative MAPKs in different species, and ESTs corresponding to members of MAPK cascades in various tissues. This work represents the first complete inventory of MAPK cascades in V. vinifera and could help elucidate the biological and physiological functions of these proteins in V. vinifera.

Identification and Analysis of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) Cascades in Fragaria vesca

“…There are only 12 MAPK and 7 MAPKK members in the strawberry genome, while at least 20 MAPK genes and 10 MAPKK genes have been identified in the A. thaliana genome, even though the genome size of F. vesca (240 Mb) is approximately twice that of the A. thaliana genome (~125 Mb). The numbers are more comparable to those in V. vinifera (~400 Mb), where 14 MAPK and 5 MAPKK members have been identified [ 1 , 42 ]. With 73 members, the MAPKKK subfamily is similar in size to that of rice (75 members), larger than that of grapevine (62 members) but smaller than that of A. thaliana (80 members).…”

“…It is interesting that no FvMAPKKK was found that belonged to the ZIK subfamily, which in other species has members with a conserved GTPEFMAPE (L/V) Y signature. The absence of the characteristic ZIK subfamily feature in F. vesca might suggest the presence of a slightly modified RAF domain, instead of the typical ZIK domain as reported in Vitis [ 42 ].…”

“…It is unknown in their functions of most MAPK in plants, but MAPK cascades have been identified in horticultural crops, such as grapevine and cucumber ( Cucumis sativus ) [ 34 , 42 ]. In the current study, we identified a total of 12 FvMAPKs , 7 FvMAPKKs , 73 FvMAPKKKs and 1 FvMAPKKKK from the recently published strawberry ( F. vesca “Hawaii 4”) genome [ 43 ].…”

ROS and MAPK Cascades in the Post-harvest Senescence of Horticultural Products

“…In addition, analyses of exon-intron junctions and of the intron phase inside the predicted coding region of each candidate gene revealed high levels of conservation within and between phylogenetic groups. These analyses demonstrated the existence of 14 MAPKs, five MAPKKs, 62 MAPKKKs, and seven MAPKKKKs in Vitis vinifera [26] and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). In Cucurbitaceae crops, which are highly susceptible to environmental stress and pathogen attack, analyses demonstrated the presence of at least 14 MAPKs, six MAPKKs, and 59 MAPKKKs [6].…”

Receptor-Like Protein Kinases Function Upstream of MAPKs in Regulating Plant Development

“…MAPK cascades have been found in all eukaryotes [ 3 ]. For example, the grape ( Vitis vinifera ) genome possesses 88 MAPK cascade genes, including 7 MAPK kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKKKs), 62 MAPKKKs, 5 MAPKKs, and 14 MPKs [ 4 ]. The Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) genome encodes 80 MAPKKKs, 10 MAPKKs, and 20 MPKs [ 5 , 6 ].…”