College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, PR China; Shaanxi Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, PR China.
College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, PR China; Shaanxi Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, PR China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2022 Mar 1;200:193-205. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.12.175. Epub 2022 Jan 4.
BEL1-like (BELL) transcription factors, belonging to three-amino acid-loop-extension (TALE) superfamily, are ubiquitous in plants. BELLs regulate a wide range of plant biological processes, but the understanding of the BELL family in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) remains fragmentary. In this study, a total of 14 members of the SlBELL family were identified in tomato. SlBELL proteins contained the conserved BELL and SKY domains that served as typical structures of the BELL family. Syntenic analysis indicated that the BELL orthologs between tomato and other dicots had close evolutionary relationships. Furthermore, the promoters of SlBELLs contained numerous cis-elements related to plant growth, development, and stress response. The SlBELL genes exhibited different tissue-specific expression profiles and responded to cold, heat, and drought stresses, implying their potential functions in regulating multiple aspects of plant growth, as well as in response to abiotic stresses. Through the interaction network prediction, we found that most SlBELL proteins displayed probable interactions with the KNOTTED1-like (KNOX) proteins, another kind of transcription factor in the TALE superfamily. These findings laid foundations for further dissection of the functions of SlBELL genes in tomato, as well as for exploration of the evolutionary relationships of BELL homologs among different plant species.
BEL1 样（BELL）转录因子属于三氨基酸环延伸（TALE）超家族，在植物中普遍存在。BELL 调节广泛的植物生物学过程，但对番茄（Solanum lycopersicum）中 BELL 家族的理解仍然是零碎的。在这项研究中，在番茄中鉴定了 14 个 SlBELL 家族成员。SlBELL 蛋白含有保守的 BELL 和 SKY 结构域，这是 BELL 家族的典型结构。共线性分析表明，番茄和其他双子叶植物之间的 BELL 直系同源物具有密切的进化关系。此外，SlBELL 启动子含有与植物生长、发育和应激反应相关的许多顺式元件。SlBELL 基因表现出不同的组织特异性表达谱，并对冷、热和干旱胁迫作出反应，这表明它们在调节植物生长的多个方面以及对非生物胁迫的反应中具有潜在的功能。通过互作网络预测，我们发现大多数 SlBELL 蛋白与 KNOTTED1 样（KNOX）蛋白显示出可能的相互作用，KNOX 蛋白是 TALE 超家族中的另一种转录因子。这些发现为进一步剖析 SlBELL 基因在番茄中的功能以及探索不同植物物种中 BELL 同源物的进化关系奠定了基础。
