Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube
Abstract Background The WRKY gene family is one of the most important families in higher plants. As transcription factors, they actively respond to biotic and abiotic stress and are also involved in plant development. Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is the largest type of dried fruit tree in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2019-06-01
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| Series: | BMC Genomics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-019-5789-8 |
| _version_ | 1818975211508203520 |
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| author | Chaoling Xue Hongtai Li Zhiguo Liu Lili Wang Yitong Zhao Ximeng Wei Hu Fang Mengjun Liu Jin Zhao |
| author_facet | Chaoling Xue Hongtai Li Zhiguo Liu Lili Wang Yitong Zhao Ximeng Wei Hu Fang Mengjun Liu Jin Zhao |
| author_sort | Chaoling Xue |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The WRKY gene family is one of the most important families in higher plants. As transcription factors, they actively respond to biotic and abiotic stress and are also involved in plant development. Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is the largest type of dried fruit tree in China in terms of production, but its production is largely limited by phytoplasma infection, and the information about the role of WRKY genes under phytoplasma stress was still limited. Results We identified 54 ZjWRKYs in the jujube genome and classified them into three subgroups according to conserved WRKY domains and zinc-finger structure. 41 ZjWRKYs were distributed on 11 of 12 pseudo chromosomes in Chinese jujube. The majority of ZjWRKYs were highly expressed in the seven examined tissues, indicating that they play multiple roles in these vegetative and reproductive organs. Transcriptome data showed that most of the characterised ZjWRKYs were highly expressed at later stages of fruit development. RT-qPCR demonstrated that the expression of 23 ZjWRKYs changed following phytoplasma infection, suggesting that they are involved in signalling pathways that respond to phytoplasma stress. Then, STRING analysis and yeast two-hybrid screening proved that some ZjWRKY proteins were interacting with ZjMAPKK proteins, which were also involved in phytoplasma invasion. Moreover, their differential expressions were further confirmed in resistant and susceptible jujube varieties under phytoplasma stress. These results suggest that ZjWRKYs play significant roles in phytoplasma tolerance and should be crucial candidate genes for jujube-phytoplasma interaction. Conclusions 54 ZjWRKYs in Chinese jujube were identified and classified into three subgroups. 41 ZjWRKYs were unevenly distributed along the chromosomes. The majority of ZjWRKYs were highly expressed in various tissues. Most of the ZjWRKYs were positive responses to phytoplasma invasion, and that provided candidate genes for the future studies of jujube-phytoplasma interaction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T15:52:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe733308652e417f97ba6689933b2dfe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2164 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T15:52:21Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Genomics |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe733308652e417f97ba6689933b2dfe2022-12-21T19:34:38ZengBMCBMC Genomics1471-21642019-06-0120111410.1186/s12864-019-5789-8Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujubeChaoling Xue0Hongtai Li1Zhiguo Liu2Lili Wang3Yitong Zhao4Ximeng Wei5Hu Fang6Mengjun Liu7Jin Zhao8College of Life Science, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Hebei Agricultural UniversityResearch Center of Chinese Jujube, Hebei Agricultural UniversityResearch Center of Chinese Jujube, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Hebei Agricultural UniversityBGI-ShenzhenResearch Center of Chinese Jujube, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Life Science, Hebei Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background The WRKY gene family is one of the most important families in higher plants. As transcription factors, they actively respond to biotic and abiotic stress and are also involved in plant development. Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is the largest type of dried fruit tree in China in terms of production, but its production is largely limited by phytoplasma infection, and the information about the role of WRKY genes under phytoplasma stress was still limited. Results We identified 54 ZjWRKYs in the jujube genome and classified them into three subgroups according to conserved WRKY domains and zinc-finger structure. 41 ZjWRKYs were distributed on 11 of 12 pseudo chromosomes in Chinese jujube. The majority of ZjWRKYs were highly expressed in the seven examined tissues, indicating that they play multiple roles in these vegetative and reproductive organs. Transcriptome data showed that most of the characterised ZjWRKYs were highly expressed at later stages of fruit development. RT-qPCR demonstrated that the expression of 23 ZjWRKYs changed following phytoplasma infection, suggesting that they are involved in signalling pathways that respond to phytoplasma stress. Then, STRING analysis and yeast two-hybrid screening proved that some ZjWRKY proteins were interacting with ZjMAPKK proteins, which were also involved in phytoplasma invasion. Moreover, their differential expressions were further confirmed in resistant and susceptible jujube varieties under phytoplasma stress. These results suggest that ZjWRKYs play significant roles in phytoplasma tolerance and should be crucial candidate genes for jujube-phytoplasma interaction. Conclusions 54 ZjWRKYs in Chinese jujube were identified and classified into three subgroups. 41 ZjWRKYs were unevenly distributed along the chromosomes. The majority of ZjWRKYs were highly expressed in various tissues. Most of the ZjWRKYs were positive responses to phytoplasma invasion, and that provided candidate genes for the future studies of jujube-phytoplasma interaction.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-019-5789-8WRKYsChinese jujubeBioinformatics analysisGene expressionPhytoplasma invasion |
| spellingShingle | Chaoling Xue Hongtai Li Zhiguo Liu Lili Wang Yitong Zhao Ximeng Wei Hu Fang Mengjun Liu Jin Zhao Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube BMC Genomics WRKYs Chinese jujube Bioinformatics analysis Gene expression Phytoplasma invasion |
| title | Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube |
| title_full | Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube |
| title_fullStr | Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube |
| title_short | Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube |
| title_sort | genome wide analysis of the wrky gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in chinese jujube |
| topic | WRKYs Chinese jujube Bioinformatics analysis Gene expression Phytoplasma invasion |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-019-5789-8 |
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