State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas / College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.
School of Mathematics and Statistics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, Shaanxi, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2022 Apr 1;22(1):160. doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03546-4.
Plant AT-rich sequence and zinc-binding (PLATZ) proteins belong to a novel class of plant-specific zinc-finger-dependent DNA-binding proteins that play essential roles in plant growth and development. Although the PLATZ gene family has been identified in several species, systematic identification and characterization of this gene family has not yet been carried out for Tartary buckwheat, which is an important medicinal and edible crop with high nutritional value. The recent completion of Tartary buckwheat genome sequencing has laid the foundation for this study.
A total of 14 FtPLATZ proteins were identified in Tartary buckwheat and were classified into four phylogenetic groups. The gene structure and motif composition were similar within the same group, and evident distinctions among different groups were detected. Gene duplication, particularly segmental duplication, was the main driving force in the evolution of FtPLATZs. Synteny analysis revealed that Tartary buckwheat shares more orthologous PLATZ genes with dicotyledons, particularly soybean. In addition, the expression of FtPLATZs in different tissues and developmental stages of grains showed evident specificity and preference. FtPLATZ3 may be involved in the regulation of grain size, and FtPLATZ4 and FtPLATZ11 may participate in root development. Abundant and variable hormone-responsive cis-acting elements were distributed in the promoter regions of FtPLATZs, and almost all FtPLATZs were significantly regulated after exogenous hormone treatments, particularly methyl jasmonate treatment. Moreover, FtPLATZ6 was significantly upregulated under all exogenous hormone treatments, which may indicate that this gene plays a critical role in the hormone response of Tartary buckwheat.
This study lays a foundation for further exploration of the function of FtPLATZ proteins and their roles in the growth and development of Tartary buckwheat and contributes to the genetic improvement of Tartary buckwheat.
植物富含 AT 的序列和锌结合（PLATZ）蛋白属于一类新的植物特异性锌指依赖的 DNA 结合蛋白，它们在植物生长和发育中起着至关重要的作用。尽管PLATZ 基因家族已在多个物种中被鉴定出来，但对于具有高营养价值的重要药用和食用作物苦荞，其系统鉴定和特征描述尚未进行。苦荞基因组测序的最近完成为这项研究奠定了基础。
共鉴定出 14 个 FtPLATZ 蛋白，它们被分为四个系统发生组。同一组内的基因结构和基序组成相似，而不同组之间则存在明显的区别。基因复制，特别是片段复制，是 FtPLATZs 进化的主要驱动力。共线性分析表明，苦荞与双子叶植物（尤其是大豆）共享更多的直系同源 PLATZ 基因。此外，FtPLATZs 在不同组织和籽粒发育阶段的表达表现出明显的特异性和偏好性。FtPLATZ3 可能参与调控籽粒大小，而 FtPLATZ4 和 FtPLATZ11 可能参与根系发育。丰富且多变的激素响应顺式作用元件分布在 FtPLATZs 的启动子区域，几乎所有的 FtPLATZs 在激素处理后都受到显著调控，特别是茉莉酸甲酯处理。此外，所有外源激素处理下 FtPLATZ6 的表达均显著上调，这可能表明该基因在苦荞的激素响应中起着关键作用。
本研究为进一步探索 FtPLATZ 蛋白的功能及其在苦荞生长发育中的作用奠定了基础，为苦荞的遗传改良提供了参考。
