Qian Jieying, Liu Yong, Chao Naixia, Ma Chengtong, Chen Qicong, Sun Jian, Wu Yaosheng
Key Laboratory of Biological Molecular Medicine Research of Guangxi Higher Education, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.
Schools of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
BMC Mol Biol. 2017 Feb 4;18(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s12867-017-0081-4.
Farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPS) belongs to the short-chain prenyltransferase family, and it performs a conserved and essential role in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathway. However, its classification, evolutionary history, and the forces driving the evolution of FPS genes in plants remain poorly understood.
Phylogeny and positive selection analysis was used to identify the evolutionary forces that led to the functional divergence of FPS in plants, and recombinant detection was undertaken using the Genetic Algorithm for Recombination Detection (GARD) method. The dataset included 68 FPS variation pattern sequences (2 gymnosperms, 10 monocotyledons, 54 dicotyledons, and 2 outgroups). This study revealed that the FPS gene was under positive selection in plants. No recombinant within the FPS gene was found. Therefore, it was inferred that the positive selection of FPS had not been influenced by a recombinant episode. The positively selected sites were mainly located in the catalytic center and functional areas, which indicated that the 98S and 234D were important positively selected sites for plant FPS in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathway. They were located in the FPS conserved domain of the catalytic site. We inferred that the diversification of FPS genes was associated with functional divergence and could be driven by positive selection.
It was clear that protein sequence evolution via positive selection was able to drive adaptive diversification in plant FPS proteins. This study provides information on the classification and positive selection of plant FPS genes, and the results could be useful for further research on the regulation of triterpenoid biosynthesis.
法尼基焦磷酸合酶（FPS）属于短链异戊烯基转移酶家族，在萜类生物合成途径中发挥着保守且至关重要的作用。然而，其分类、进化历史以及驱动植物中FPS基因进化的力量仍知之甚少。
运用系统发育和正选择分析来确定导致植物中FPS功能分化的进化力量，并使用重组检测遗传算法（GARD）方法进行重组检测。数据集包括68个FPS变异模式序列（2个裸子植物、10个单子叶植物、54个双子叶植物和2个外类群）。本研究表明FPS基因在植物中受到正选择。未在FPS基因内发现重组。因此，推断FPS的正选择未受重组事件影响。正选择位点主要位于催化中心和功能区域，这表明98S和234D是植物FPS在萜类生物合成途径中的重要正选择位点。它们位于催化位点的FPS保守结构域中。我们推断FPS基因的多样化与功能分化相关，并且可能由正选择驱动。
显然，通过正选择的蛋白质序列进化能够推动植物FPS蛋白的适应性多样化。本研究提供了关于植物FPS基因分类和正选择的信息，其结果可能有助于进一步研究三萜类生物合成的调控。
