Wu Zhi-Jun, Wang Wen-Li, Zhuang Jing
Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
Funct Integr Genomics. 2017 Sep;17(5):503-512. doi: 10.1007/s10142-017-0553-0. Epub 2017 Feb 24.
Tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is an important leaf-type woody crop used for producing of non-alcoholic beverages worldwide. The GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR (GRF) transcription factors cooperated with GRF-INTERACTING FACTOR (GIF) transcriptional coactivators positively regulate leaf development. In the present study, six GRF and two GIF genes were identified and characterized in the leaf transcriptome of C. sinensis, respectively. The alignment results showed that the feature structures of the predicted homologous GRF and GIF proteins of C. sinensis hold a high identity with Arabidopsis and rice. The presence of C. sinensis miR396 target sites suggested that these miR396 members are the potential post-transcriptional regulators of CsGRF genes. The expression profiles of CsGRF and CsGIF1 genes were higher in tender leaves and consistently downregulated during tea plant leaf development. Those results suggested that these genes may be actively involved in the early stage leaf tissue formation in tea plant. The divergence of CsGRF and CsGIF genes in response to different hormonal stimuli revealed the possible multiple functions of these genes in hormonal regulation. This study provided the potential molecular basis of the CsGRF and CsGIF family genes for future functional research on leaf development and hormonal stimuli in C. sinensis.
茶树（Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze）是一种重要的叶用木本作物，在全球用于生产非酒精饮料。生长调节因子（GRF）转录因子与GRF相互作用因子（GIF）转录共激活因子协同作用，正向调控叶片发育。在本研究中，分别在茶树叶片转录组中鉴定并表征了6个GRF基因和2个GIF基因。比对结果表明，预测的茶树同源GRF和GIF蛋白的特征结构与拟南芥和水稻具有高度同源性。茶树miR396靶位点的存在表明，这些miR396成员是CsGRF基因潜在的转录后调控因子。CsGRF和CsGIF1基因在嫩叶中的表达谱较高，在茶树叶片发育过程中持续下调。这些结果表明，这些基因可能积极参与茶树叶片组织形成的早期阶段。CsGRF和CsGIF基因对不同激素刺激的差异揭示了这些基因在激素调控中可能具有多种功能。本研究为茶树CsGRF和CsGIF家族基因未来在叶片发育和激素刺激方面的功能研究提供了潜在的分子基础。
