Genome-Wide Identification of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Cascade Genes and Transcriptional Profiling Analysis during Organ Development in Eucommia ulmoides

Sci Rep. 2017 Dec 18;7(1):17732. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17615-4.

Abstract

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, which play crucial roles in plant development processes, are universal modules of signal transduction in eukaryotes and consist of a core module of three sequentially phosphorylated kinases: MAPK, MAPK kinase (MAPKK), and MAPKK kinase (MAPKKK). This is the first report on the identification and analysis of MAPK cascades in Eucommia ulmoides. We conducted a genome-wide screening and identified 13 EuMAPKs, five EuMAPKKs, and 57 EuMAPKKKs. The construction of phylogenetic trees revealed that EuMAPKs and EuMAPKKs were divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D), and EuMAPKKKs were divided into three subfamilies (MEKK, RAF, and ZIK). These subfamilies were further confirmed by conserved domain/motif analysis and gene structure analysis. Based on the expression profiles of all identified EuMAPK cascades in various organs at different developmental stages, three genes (EuRAF22-2, EuRAF34-1, and EuRAF33-2) with stable expression patterns at all stages of fruit or leaf development, three genes (EuRAF2-3, EuMPK11, and EuMEKK21) with differential expression patterns, and two highly expressed genes (EuZIK1 and EuMKK2) were screened and validated by qRT-PCR. Overall, our results could be used for further research on the precise role of MAPK cascades during organ development in E. ulmoides.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Chromosomes, Plant / metabolism
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Eucommiaceae / genetics*
  • Eucommiaceae / growth & development
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / genetics
  • Genome, Plant / genetics
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases / metabolism
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / genetics
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / physiology
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / metabolism
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / genetics*
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / physiology
  • Organogenesis, Plant / genetics*
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • Plant Proteins
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
  • MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases