Key Laboratory of Biology and Molecular Biology in University of Shandong, Weifang University, Weifang, Shandong 261061, PR China.
Gene. 2013 Jan 15;513(1):128-40. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2012.10.053. Epub 2012 Oct 27.
Helicases belong to a class of molecular motor proteins that are found in yeast, animals, and plants. The helicase family is divided into three subfamilies, including the DEAD-box, DEAH-box and DExD/H-box helicases, which are classified based on variations within a common motif, known as motif II. The RNA helicases are involved in every step of RNA metabolism, including nuclear transcription, pre-mRNA splicing, ribosome biogenesis, nucleocytoplasmic transport, translation, RNA decay, and organellar gene expression. The RNA helicase protein family plays a crucial role in plant growth and development as well as in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, unlike Arabidopsis, no detailed information regarding the RNA helicase family is currently available for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) due to a limited number of whole-genome sequences. In this study, we identified a total of 157 RNA helicase genes in the tomato genome. According to the structural features of the motif II region, we classified the tomato RNA helicase genes into DEAD-box, DEAH-box and DExD/H-box helicase genes. But there are 27 RNA helicases not belonging to this three subfamilies, we called that "other helicase". We mapped the 157 RNA helicase genes onto the tomato chromosomes, which range from chr01 to chr12. Microarray and expressed sequence tag data showed that many of these RNA helicase proteins may be involved in diverse biological processes and responses to various stresses. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a genome-wide analysis of the tomato RNA helicase gene family. This study provides valuable information for understanding the classification and putative functions of the RNA helicase gene family in Solanaceae.
解旋酶属于一类分子马达蛋白，存在于酵母、动物和植物中。解旋酶家族分为三个亚家族，包括 DEAD-box、DEAH-box 和 DExD/H-box 解旋酶，它们是根据共同基序（称为 motif II）内的变异进行分类的。RNA 解旋酶参与 RNA 代谢的各个步骤，包括核转录、前体 mRNA 剪接、核糖体生物发生、核质转运、翻译、RNA 降解和细胞器基因表达。RNA 解旋酶蛋白家族在植物生长发育以及对生物和非生物胁迫的反应中起着至关重要的作用。然而，与拟南芥不同，由于全基因组序列数量有限，目前对于番茄（Solanum lycopersicum），尚无关于 RNA 解旋酶家族的详细信息。在这项研究中，我们在番茄基因组中总共鉴定了 157 个 RNA 解旋酶基因。根据 motif II 区域的结构特征，我们将番茄 RNA 解旋酶基因分为 DEAD-box、DEAH-box 和 DExD/H-box 解旋酶基因。但是有 27 个 RNA 解旋酶不属于这三个亚家族，我们称之为“其他解旋酶”。我们将 157 个 RNA 解旋酶基因映射到番茄染色体上，范围从 chr01 到 chr12。微阵列和表达序列标签数据表明，这些 RNA 解旋酶蛋白中的许多可能参与多种生物过程和对各种应激的反应。据我们所知，这是首次对番茄 RNA 解旋酶基因家族进行全基因组分析的报告。本研究为理解茄科植物 RNA 解旋酶基因家族的分类和可能功能提供了有价值的信息。
