Genome-wide characterization of the Zn(II)2Cys6 zinc cluster-encoding gene family in Pleurotus ostreatus and expression analyses of this family during developmental stages and under heat stress

Zhihao Hou; Qiang Chen; Mengran Zhao; Chenyang Huang; Xiangli Wu

doi:10.7717/peerj.9336

Genome-wide characterization of the Zn(II)₂Cys₆ zinc cluster-encoding gene family in Pleurotus ostreatus and expression analyses of this family during developmental stages and under heat stress

PeerJ. 2020 Jun 12:8:e9336. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9336. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Zhihao Hou^{1

2}, Qiang Chen^{1

2}, Mengran Zhao^{1

2}, Chenyang Huang^{1

2}, Xiangli Wu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Pleurotus ostreatus is one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms in China. The regulatory mechanisms of fruiting body formation and the response to heat stress in P. ostreatus are main research focuses. The Zn(II)₂Cys₆ family is one of the largest families of transcriptional factors and plays important roles in multiple biological processes in fungi. In this study, we identified 66 zinc cluster proteins in P. ostreatus (PoZCPs) through a genome-wide search. The PoZCPs were classified into 15 types according to their zinc cluster domain. Physical and chemical property analyses showed a huge diversity among the PoZCPs. Phylogenetic analysis of PoZCPs classified these proteins into six groups and conserved motif combinations and similar gene structures were observed in each group. The expression profiles of these PoZCP genes during different developmental stages and under heat stress were further investigated by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), revealing diverse expression patterns. A total of 13 PoZCPs that may participate in development or the heat stress response were selected for validation of their expression levels through real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis, and some developmental stage-specific and heat stress-responsive candidates were identified. The findings contribute to our understanding of the roles and regulatory mechanisms of ZCPs in P. ostreatus.

Keywords: Fruiting body development; Heat stress; Pleurotus ostreatus; Zinc cluster protein.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31601803), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Non-profit Scientific Institution (No. 1610132020032) and the China Agriculture Research System (CARS20). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.