State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
Sci Rep. 2021 Nov 25;11(1):22933. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02239-6.
Autophagy is a highly conserved process of degradation of cytoplasmic constituents in eukaryotes. It is involved in the growth and development of plants, as well as in biotic and abiotic stress response. Although autophagy-related (ATG) genes have been identified and characterized in many plant species, little is known about this process in Medicago truncatula. In this study, 39 ATGs were identified, and their gene structures and conserved domains were systematically characterized in M. truncatula. Many cis-elements, related to hormone and stress responsiveness, were identified in the promoters of MtATGs. Phylogenetic and interaction network analyses suggested that the function of MtATGs is evolutionarily conserved in Arabidopsis and M. truncatula. The expression of MtATGs, at varied levels, was detected in all examined tissues. In addition, most of the MtATGs were highly induced during seed development and drought stress, which indicates that autophagy plays an important role in seed development and responses to drought stress in M. truncatula. In conclusion, this study gives a comprehensive overview of MtATGs and provides important clues for further functional analysis of autophagy in M. truncatula.
自噬是真核生物中细胞质成分降解的一种高度保守的过程。它参与植物的生长和发育，以及生物和非生物胁迫反应。尽管已经在许多植物物种中鉴定和描述了自噬相关（ATG）基因，但对蒺藜苜蓿中的这一过程知之甚少。在这项研究中，鉴定了 39 个 ATG，并对它们在蒺藜苜蓿中的基因结构和保守结构域进行了系统的描述。在 MtATGs 的启动子中鉴定到了许多与激素和应激反应相关的顺式元件。系统发育和互作网络分析表明，MtATGs 的功能在拟南芥和蒺藜苜蓿中是保守的。在所有检查的组织中，MtATGs 的表达水平不同。此外，大多数 MtATGs 在种子发育和干旱胁迫期间被高度诱导，这表明自噬在蒺藜苜蓿的种子发育和对干旱胁迫的反应中发挥重要作用。总之，本研究全面概述了 MtATGs，并为进一步分析蒺藜苜蓿中的自噬功能提供了重要线索。
