State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an District, Hangzhou 311300, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Dec 17;22(24):13568. doi: 10.3390/ijms222413568.
The AP2 transcriptional factors (TFs) belong to the APETALA2/ ethylene-responsive factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily and regulate various biological processes of plant growth and development, as well as response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, genome-wide research on the AP2 subfamily TFs in the pecan () is rarely reported. In this paper, we identify 30 AP2 subfamily genes from pecans through a genome-wide search, and they were unevenly distributed on the pecan chromosomes. Then, a phylogenetic tree, gene structure and conserved motifs were further analyzed. The 30 AP2 genes were divided into euAP2, euANT and basalANT three clades. Moreover, the -acting elements analysis showed many light responsive elements, plant hormone-responsive elements and abiotic stress responsive elements are found in promoters. Furthermore, a qPCR analysis showed that genes clustered together usually shared similar expression patterns in euAP2 and basalANT clades, while the expression pattern in the euANT clade varied greatly. In developing pecan fruits, , and shared similar expression patterns, and their expression levels decreased with fruit development. displayed the highest expression levels in developing fruits. The subcellular localization and transcriptional activation activity assay demonstrated that CiANT5 is located in the nucleus and functions as a transcription factor with transcriptional activation activity. These results help to comprehensively understand the pecan AP2 subfamily TFs and lay the foundation for further functional research on pecan AP2 family genes.
AP2 转录因子（TFs）属于 APETALA2/乙烯响应因子（AP2/ERF）超家族，调节植物生长发育的各种生物学过程以及对生物和非生物胁迫的响应。然而，关于美洲山核桃（）中 AP2 亚家族 TF 的全基因组研究很少有报道。本文通过全基因组搜索从美洲山核桃中鉴定出 30 个 AP2 亚家族基因，它们不均匀地分布在美洲山核桃染色体上。然后，进一步分析了系统发育树、基因结构和保守基序。30 个 AP2 基因分为 euAP2、euANT 和 basalANT 三个分支。此外，- 作用元件分析表明，在启动子中发现了许多光响应元件、植物激素响应元件和非生物胁迫响应元件。此外，qPCR 分析表明，在 euAP2 和 basalANT 分支中，聚类在一起的基因通常具有相似的表达模式，而在 euANT 分支中，表达模式差异很大。在发育中的美洲山核桃果实中，、和共享相似的表达模式，它们的表达水平随着果实的发育而降低。在发育的果实中显示出最高的表达水平。亚细胞定位和转录激活活性测定表明，CiANT5 位于细胞核中，作为具有转录激活活性的转录因子发挥作用。这些结果有助于全面了解美洲山核桃 AP2 亚家族 TFs，并为进一步研究美洲山核桃 AP2 家族基因的功能奠定基础。
