SEP-class genes in Prunus mume and their likely role in floral organ development

Abstract

BackgroundFlower phylogenetics and genetically controlled development have been revolutionised during the last two decades. However, some of these evolutionary aspects are still debatable. MADS-box genes are known to play essential role in specifying the floral organogenesis and differentiation in numerous model plants like Petunia hybrida, Arabidopsis thaliana and Antirrhinum majus. SEPALLATA (SEP) genes, belonging to the MADS-box gene family, are members of the ABCDE and quartet models of floral organ development and play a vital role in flower development. However, few studies of the genes in Prunus mume have yet been conducted.ResultsIn this study, we cloned four PmSEPs and investigated their phylogenetic relationship with other species. Expression pattern analyses and yeast two-hybrid assays of these four genes indicated their involvement in the floral organogenesis with PmSEP4 specifically related to specification of the prolificated flowers in P. mume. It was observed that the flower meristem was specified by PmSEP1 and PmSEP4, the sepal by PmSEP1 and PmSEP4, petals by PmSEP2 and PmSEP3, stamens by PmSEP2 and PmSEP3 and pistils by PmSEP2 and PmSEP3.ConclusionWith the above in mind, flower development in P. mume might be due to an expression of SEP genes. Our findings can provide a foundation for further investigations of the transcriptional factors governing flower development, their molecular mechanisms and genetic basis.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-016-0954-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Isolation and characterization of a MADS-box gene in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) that affects flowering time and leaf morphology in transgenic Arabidopsis

“…The results showed that CsMADS02 had 55.98-86.03% identity in deduced amino acid sequence with these SEP proteins, such as OsMADS1 in Oryza sativa (55.98% identity), SlCMB1 in Solanum lycopersicon (59.05% identity), GbSEP in Ginkgo biloba (59.91% identity), TaMADS1 in Triticum aestivum (68.78% identity), AtSEP3 in A. thaliana (78.33% identity), GmMADS28 in Glycine max (83.82% identity) and ZjMADS47 in Ziziphus jujuba (86.03% identity) ( Figure 2). In addition, the MADS domain and the K-box were relatively conserved, while the I and C regions were less conserved, which is in accordance with the results of a previous study [53]. Furthermore, two short conserved motifs (SEP motifs I and II) were present in the SEP proteins although the C-terminal regions were highly divergent (Figure 2).…”

PmCBFs synthetically affect PmDAM6 by alternative promoter binding and protein complexes towards the dormancy of bud for Prunus mume

“…These sequences were cloned into pGBKT7 bait vector and pGADT7 prey vector at the EcoRI and BamHI sites, respectively, using an In-Fusion HD Cloning Kit System (Clonetech, USA). The Y2H assays were performed by former methods 42 . Each interaction analysis was performed three times.…”

Comprehensive Cloning of Prunus mume Dormancy Associated MADS-Box Genes and Their Response in Flower Bud Development and Dormancy

“…Total RNA was extracted from flower buds. Full-length cDNA of six PmDAMs and the plasmids of pMD TM 18-T- PmDAMs were extracted by previous methods ( Zhou et al, 2017 ). The primers and annealing temperatures of PCRs are shown in Supplementary Table 2 .…”

“…To clone these sequences into pGBKT7(bait) vectors and pGADT7 (prey) vectors (Clonetech, United States) at the Eco RI and Bam HI sites respectively, In-Fusion HD Cloning System (Clonetech, United States) was used. Yeast 2 hybrid assay was performed according to the previous method ( Zhou et al, 2017 ). The screenings for each interaction were applied in triplicate.…”

“…To investigate the expression patterns of PmDAMs genes in different organs and flower bud development, real-time quantitative PCR experiments were performed via former method ( Zhou et al, 2017 ). The primers of RT-qPCR are shown in Supplementary Table 3 .…”