A systematic analysis of the subtilase gene family and expression and subcellular localization investigation of anther-specific members in maize

Quancan Hou; Linlin Wang; Yuchen Qi; Tingwei Yan; Fan Zhang; Wei Zhao; Xiangyuan Wan

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108041

A systematic analysis of the subtilase gene family and expression and subcellular localization investigation of anther-specific members in maize

Plant Physiol Biochem. 2023 Oct:203:108041. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108041. Epub 2023 Sep 15.

Authors

Quancan Hou¹, Linlin Wang², Yuchen Qi², Tingwei Yan², Fan Zhang², Wei Zhao², Xiangyuan Wan³

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute of Biology and Agriculture, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China; Beijing Engineering Laboratory of Main Crop Bio-Tech Breeding, Zhongzhi lnternational lnstitute of Agricultural Biosciences, Beijing, 100192, China.
² Research Institute of Biology and Agriculture, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
³ Research Institute of Biology and Agriculture, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China; Beijing Engineering Laboratory of Main Crop Bio-Tech Breeding, Zhongzhi lnternational lnstitute of Agricultural Biosciences, Beijing, 100192, China. Electronic address: wanxiangyuan@ustb.edu.cn.

PMID: 37722281
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108041

Abstract

Subtilases (SBTs), also known as Subtilisin-like serine proteases, are extracellular alkaline protease proteins. SBTs function in all stages of plant growth, development and stress responses. Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop widely used worldwide as food, feed, and industrial materials. However, information about the members and their functions of the SBT proteins in maize is lacking. In this study, we identified 58 ZmSBT genes from the maize genome and conducted a comprehensive investigation of ZmSBTs by phylogenetic, gene duplication event, gene structure, and protein conserved motif analyses. The ZmSBT proteins were phylogenetically classified into seven groups, and collinearity analysis indicated that many ZmSBTs originate from tandem or segmental duplications. Structural and homolog protein comparison revealed ZmSBTs have conserved protein structures with reported subtilase proteins, suggesting the conserved functions. Further analysis showed that ZmSBTs are expressed in different tissues, and many are responses to specific abiotic stress. Analysis of the anther-specific ZmSBT genes showed their expression peaked at different developmental stages of maize anthers. Subcellular localization analysis of selected maize ZmSBTs showed they are located in different cellular compartments. The information provided in this study is valuable for further functional study of ZmSBTs.

Keywords: Expression profile; Gene family; Maize; Subcellular localization; Subtilase.