Jasmonate (JA) is an important phytohormone regulating growth, development, and environmental response in plants, particularly defense response against herbivorous insects. Recently, completion of the draft genome of the mulberry (Morus notabilis) in conjunction with genome sequencing of silkworm (Bombyx mori) provides an opportunity to study this unique plant-herbivore interaction. Here, we identified genes involved in JA biosynthetic and signaling pathways in the genome of mulberry for the first time, with the majority of samples showing a tissue-biased expression pattern. The analysis of the representative genes 12-oxophytodienoic acid reductase (OPRs) and jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZs) was performed and the results indicated that the mulberry genome contains a relatively small number of JA biosynthetic and signaling pathway genes. A gene encoding an important repressor, MnNINJA, was identified as an alternative splicing variant lacking an ethylene-responsive element binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression motif. Having this fundamental information will facilitate future functional study of JA-related genes pertaining to mulberry-silkworm interactions.
Keywords: Jasmonate; mulberry (Morus notabilis); pathway; silkworm.
© 2014 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.