Zhang Kang, Yu Lu, Pang Xi, Cao Hongzhe, Si Helong, Zang Jinping, Xing Jihong, Dong Jingao
College of Life Science, Hebei Agricultrual University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
Hebei Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Pathology, Hebei Agricultrual University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
PeerJ. 2020 Feb 12;8:e8539. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8539. eCollection 2020.
Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key epigenetic factors in regulating chromatin structure and gene expression in multiple aspects of plant growth, development, and response to abiotic or biotic stresses. Many studies on systematic analysis and molecular function of HDACs in and rice have been conducted. However, systematic analysis of HDAC gene family and gene expression in response to abiotic and biotic stresses has not yet been reported. In this study, a systematic analysis of the HDAC gene family in maize was performed and 18 ZmHDACs distributed on nine chromosomes were identified. Phylogenetic analysis of ZmHDACs showed that this gene family could be divided into RPD3/HDA1, SIR2, and HD2 groups. Tissue-specific expression results revealed that ZmHDACs exhibited diverse expression patterns in different tissues, indicating that these genes might have diversified functions in growth and development. Expression pattern of ZmHDACs in hormone treatment and inoculation experiment suggested that several ZmHDACs might be involved in jasmonic acid or salicylic acid signaling pathway and defense response. Interestingly, HDAC genes were downregulated under heat stress, and immunoblotting results demonstrated that histones H3K9ac and H4K5ac levels were increased under heat stress. These results provide insights into ZmHDACs, which could help to reveal their functions in controlling maize development and responses to abiotic or biotic stresses.
组蛋白去乙酰化酶（HDACs）是关键的表观遗传因子，在植物生长、发育以及对非生物或生物胁迫的响应等多个方面调控染色质结构和基因表达。已经开展了许多关于HDACs在拟南芥和水稻中的系统分析及分子功能的研究。然而，尚未见关于HDAC基因家族以及其在响应非生物和生物胁迫时基因表达的系统分析报道。在本研究中，对玉米中的HDAC基因家族进行了系统分析，鉴定出了分布在9条染色体上的18个ZmHDACs。ZmHDACs的系统发育分析表明，该基因家族可分为RPD3/HDA1、SIR2和HD2组。组织特异性表达结果显示，ZmHDACs在不同组织中呈现出多样的表达模式，表明这些基因在生长发育过程中可能具有多样化的功能。ZmHDACs在激素处理和接种实验中的表达模式表明，几个ZmHDACs可能参与茉莉酸或水杨酸信号通路及防御反应。有趣的是，HDAC基因在热胁迫下表达下调，免疫印迹结果表明，热胁迫下组蛋白H3K9ac和H4K5ac水平升高。这些结果为深入了解ZmHDACs提供了依据，有助于揭示它们在调控玉米发育以及对非生物或生物胁迫响应中的功能。
