Identification and functional analysis of the CorA/MGT/MRS2-type magnesium transporter in banana

PLoS One. 2020 Oct 1;15(10):e0239058. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239058. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) plays an irreplaceable role in plant growth and development. Mg transporters, especially CorA/MGT/MRS2 family proteins, played a vital role in regulating Mg content in plant cells. Although extensive work has been conducted in model crops, such as Arabidopsis, rice, and maize, the relevant information is scarce in tropical crops. In this study, 10 MaMRS2 genes in banana (Musa acuminata) were isolated from its genome and classified into five distinct clades. The putative physiochemical properties, chromosome location, gene structure, cis-acting elements, and duplication relationships in between these members were analyzed. Complementary experiments revealed that three MaMRS2 gene members (MaMRS2-1, MaMRS2-4, MaMRS2-7), from three distinct phylogenetic branches, were capable of restoring the function of Mg transport in Salmonella typhimurium mutants. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that MaMRS2 genes were differentially expressed in banana cultivar 'Baxijiao' (Musa spp. AAA Cavendish) seedlings. The result was confirmed by real-time PCR analysis, in addition to tissue specific expression, expression differences among MaMRS2 members were also observed under Mg deficiency conditions. These results showed that Mg transporters may play a versatile role in banana growth and development, and our work will shed light on the functional analysis of Mg transporters in banana.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cation Transport Proteins / genetics
  • Cation Transport Proteins / metabolism*
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Galactolipids / genetics
  • Gene Duplication
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genes, Plant
  • Genetic Complementation Test
  • Magnesium / metabolism*
  • Multigene Family
  • Musa / genetics
  • Musa / growth & development
  • Musa / metabolism*
  • Oryza / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Yeasts / genetics
  • Zea mays / genetics

Substances

  • Cation Transport Proteins
  • Galactolipids
  • Plant Proteins
  • arabidopside A
  • Magnesium

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 31971520 and 31460089). This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 31760549) The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.