Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Maize in Southwest Region, Ministry of Agriculture, Maize Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
National Research Centre of Intercropping, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Sep 13;24(18):14036. doi: 10.3390/ijms241814036.
The Pumilio (Pum) RNA-binding protein family regulates post-transcription and plays crucial roles in stress response and growth. However, little is known about Pum in plants. In this study, a total of 19 genes were identified and classified into two groups in maize. Although each ZmPum contains the conserved Pum domain, the ZmPum members show diversity in the gene and protein architectures, physicochemical properties, chromosomal location, collinearity, cis-elements, and expression patterns. The typical ZmPum proteins have eight α-helices repeats, except for ZmPum2, 3, 5, 7, and 14, which have fewer α-helices. Moreover, we examined the expression profiles of genes and found their involvement in kernel development. Except for , genes are expressed in maize embryos, endosperms, or whole seeds. Notably, , , and exhibited dramatically high expression levels during seed development. The study not only contributes valuable information for further validating the functions of genes but also provides insights for improvement and enhancing maize yield.
Pumilio (Pum) RNA 结合蛋白家族参与转录后调控，在应激反应和生长中发挥着关键作用。然而，人们对植物中的 Pum 知之甚少。在这项研究中，共鉴定了 19 个基因，并在玉米中分为两组。尽管每个 ZmPum 都含有保守的 Pum 结构域，但 ZmPum 成员在基因和蛋白质结构、理化性质、染色体位置、共线性、顺式元件和表达模式上存在多样性。典型的 ZmPum 蛋白具有八个α-螺旋重复，除了 ZmPum2、3、5、7 和 14，它们具有较少的α-螺旋。此外，我们检测了基因的表达谱，发现它们参与了籽粒发育。除了 ，基因在玉米胚胎、胚乳或整个种子中表达。值得注意的是，在种子发育过程中， 、 、 和 表现出极高的表达水平。该研究不仅为进一步验证基因的功能提供了有价值的信息，也为提高和增加玉米产量提供了思路。
