State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, 210037, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2021 Feb 24;21(1):110. doi: 10.1186/s12870-021-02872-3.
The Late Embryogenesis-Abundant (LEA) gene families, which play significant roles in regulation of tolerance to abiotic stresses, widely exist in higher plants. Poplar is a tree species that has important ecological and economic values. But systematic studies on the gene family have not been reported yet in poplar.
On the basis of genome-wide search, we identified 88 LEA genes from Populus trichocarpa and renamed them as PtrLEA. The PtrLEA genes have fewer introns, and their promoters contain more cis-regulatory elements related to abiotic stress tolerance. Our results from comparative genomics indicated that the PtrLEA genes are conserved and homologous to related genes in other species, such as Eucalyptus robusta, Solanum lycopersicum and Arabidopsis. Using RNA-Seq data collected from poplar under two conditions (with and without salt treatment), we detected 24, 22 and 19 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in roots, stems and leaves, respectively. Then we performed spatiotemporal expression analysis of the four up-regulated DEGs shared by the tissues, constructed gene co-expression-based networks, and investigated gene function annotations.
Lines of evidence indicated that the PtrLEA genes play significant roles in poplar growth and development, as well as in responses to salt stress.
晚期胚胎丰富（LEA）基因家族在调节非生物胁迫耐受性方面发挥着重要作用，广泛存在于高等植物中。杨树是一种具有重要生态和经济价值的树种。但杨树中关于该基因家族的系统研究尚未见报道。
基于全基因组搜索，我们从毛白杨中鉴定出 88 个 LEA 基因，并将其重新命名为 PtrLEA。PtrLEA 基因的内含子较少，其启动子中含有更多与非生物胁迫耐受性相关的顺式调控元件。我们的比较基因组学结果表明，PtrLEA 基因在其他物种中是保守的，与相关基因同源，如桉树、番茄和拟南芥。利用从毛白杨在两种条件下（有盐处理和无盐处理）收集的 RNA-Seq 数据，我们分别在根、茎和叶中检测到 24、22 和 19 个差异表达基因（DEGs）。然后，我们对组织中共同上调的四个 DEGs 进行时空表达分析，构建基于基因共表达的网络，并研究基因功能注释。
有证据表明，PtrLEA 基因在杨树的生长发育以及对盐胁迫的响应中发挥着重要作用。
