Zhang Jian, Shi Shi Zheng, Jiang Yuna, Zhong Fei, Liu Guoyuan, Yu Chunmei, Lian Bolin, Chen Yanhong
Lab of Landscape Plant Genetics and Breeding, School of Life Science, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
Jiangsu Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
PeerJ. 2021 Apr 13;9:e11076. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11076. eCollection 2021.
AP2/ERF transcription factors (TFs) play indispensable roles in plant growth, development, and especially in various abiotic stresses responses. The AP2/ERF TF family has been discovered and classified in more than 50 species. However, little is known about the gene family of Chinese willow (), which is a tetraploid ornamental tree species that is widely planted and is also considered as a species that can improve the soil salinity of coastal beaches. In this study, 364 genes of () were identified depending on the recently produced whole genome sequencing data of . These genes were renamed according to the chromosomal location of the genes. The genes included three major subfamilies: AP2 (55 members), ERF (301 members), and RAV (six members) and two Soloist genes. Genes' structure and conserved motifs were analyzed in SmAP2/ERF family members, and introns were not found in most genes of the ERF subfamily, some unique motifs were found to be important for the function of genes. Syntenic relationships between the genes and genes from and showed that is genetically more closely related to than to . Evolution analysis on paralog gene pairs suggested that progenitor of originated from hybridization between two different diploid salix germplasms and underwent genome duplication not more than 10 Mya. RNA sequencing results demonstrated the differential expression patterns of some genes under salt stress and this information can help reveal the mechanism of salt tolerance regulation in .
AP2/ERF转录因子（TFs）在植物生长、发育过程中，尤其是在各种非生物胁迫响应中发挥着不可或缺的作用。AP2/ERF转录因子家族已在50多个物种中被发现和分类。然而，对于中国柳树（一种四倍体观赏树种，广泛种植且被认为是一种可改善沿海滩涂土壤盐分的物种）的基因家族了解甚少。在本研究中，根据最近生成的中国柳树全基因组测序数据，鉴定出了364个中国柳树AP2/ERF基因。这些基因根据中国柳树基因的染色体位置重新命名。中国柳树AP2/ERF基因包括三个主要亚家族：AP2（55个成员）、ERF（301个成员）和RAV（6个成员）以及两个单生基因。对中国柳树AP2/ERF家族成员的基因结构和保守基序进行了分析，发现ERF亚家族的大多数基因中没有内含子，还发现一些独特的基序对中国柳树基因的功能很重要。中国柳树基因与杨树和柳树基因之间的共线性关系表明，中国柳树与柳树在遗传上的关系比与杨树更密切。对旁系同源基因对的进化分析表明，中国柳树的祖先起源于两种不同二倍体柳树种质之间的杂交，且基因组复制发生在不超过1000万年前。RNA测序结果显示了一些中国柳树基因在盐胁迫下的差异表达模式，这些信息有助于揭示中国柳树耐盐性调控机制。
