Characterization of the Liriodendron chinense Pentatricopeptide Repeat (PPR) Gene Family and Its Role in Osmotic Stress Response

Xiaoxiao Ma; Dandan Wang; Guoxia Xue; Xueyan Zheng; Ye Lu; Jisen Shi; Zhaodong Hao; Jinhui Chen

doi:10.3390/genes14061125

Characterization of the Liriodendron chinense Pentatricopeptide Repeat (PPR) Gene Family and Its Role in Osmotic Stress Response

Genes (Basel). 2023 May 23;14(6):1125. doi: 10.3390/genes14061125.

Authors

Xiaoxiao Ma^{1

2}, Dandan Wang^{1

2}, Guoxia Xue^{1

2}, Xueyan Zheng³, Ye Lu^{1

2}, Jisen Shi^{1

2}, Zhaodong Hao¹, Jinhui Chen²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
² Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
³ National Germplasm Bank of Chinese Fir at Fujian Yangkou Forest Farm, Shunchang 353211, China.

Abstract

The Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) superfamily is a large gene family in plants that regulates organelle RNA metabolism, which is important for plant growth and development. However, a genome-wide analysis of the PPR gene family and its response to abiotic stress has not been reported for the relict woody plant Liriodendron chinense. In this paper, we identified 650 PPR genes from the L. chinense genome. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the LcPPR genes could roughly be divided into the P and PLS subfamilies. We found that 598 LcPPR genes were widely distributed across 19 chromosomes. An intraspecies synteny analysis indicated that duplicated genes from segmental duplication contributed to the expansion of the LcPPR gene family in the L. chinense genome. In addition, we verified the relative expression of Lchi03277, Lchi06624, Lchi18566, and Lchi23489 in the roots, stems, and leaves and found that all four genes had the highest expression in the leaves. By simulating a drought treatment and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, we confirmed the drought-responsive transcriptional changes in four LcPPR genes, two of which responded to drought stress independent of endogenous ABA biosynthesis. Thus, our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the L. chinense PPR gene family. It contributes to research into their roles in this valuable tree species' growth, development, and stress resistance.

Keywords: Liriodendron chinense; PPR; drought stress; expression pattern.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Liriodendron*
Osmoregulation*
Phylogeny
Plant Proteins / chemistry
Plant Proteins / genetics
Synteny

Substances

Plant Proteins

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period (2021YFD2200102), the Youth Foundation of the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20210614), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).