Liu Pei-Zhuo, Wang Ya-Hui, Sun Yue-Hua, Wei Yong-Ju, Sun Xu, Li Meng-Yao, Tan Guo-Fei, Xiong Ai-Sheng
State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Biology and Germplasm Enhancement of Horticultural Crops in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China.
College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, Sichuan, China.
J Genet Eng Biotechnol. 2024 Dec;22(4):100443. doi: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2024.100443. Epub 2024 Nov 22.
Chlorophyll is an important nutrient in celery and one of the main indexes of quality evaluation. RNA editing in chloroplasts is an important factor affecting chloroplast development and chlorophyll biosynthesis. Multisite organelle RNA editing factor (MORF) protein is a necessary regulator of chloroplast RNA editing. In this study, a total of 8 MORF genes in celery were identified, which were named AgMORF1a, AgMORF1b, AgMORF2a, AgMORF2b, AgMORF3, AgMORF7, AgMORF8 and AgMORF9 according to their subfamily classification. The physicochemical property, conserved motifs, cis-acting elements and protein interaction were predicted according to the sequences. The phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary selective pressure between MORF genes in celery and other Apiaceae plants were further analyzed. The results showed that AgMORF1b, AgMORF2a, AgMORF2b and AgMORF9 were predicted to be localized in chloroplasts. The evolution of MORF genes in 4 Apiaceae plants including celery, carrot, coriander and water dropwort was influenced by purify selection. Transcriptome data showed that the transcriptional levels of AgMORF2a, AgMORF2b, AgMORF8 and AgMORF9 were relatively higher among all MORF genes in petioles of celery, indicating their major role. RT-qPCR data showed that the expression levels of the above 4 genes were significantly higher in petioles of green celery than those of white celery. This study provided a basis for analyzing the effects of MORF proteins on chloroplast development of celery with different chlorophyll accumulation.
叶绿素是芹菜中的一种重要营养成分，也是质量评价的主要指标之一。叶绿体中的RNA编辑是影响叶绿体发育和叶绿素生物合成的重要因素。多位点细胞器RNA编辑因子（MORF）蛋白是叶绿体RNA编辑的必要调节因子。本研究共鉴定出芹菜中的8个MORF基因，根据其亚家族分类分别命名为AgMORF1a、AgMORF1b、AgMORF2a、AgMORF2b、AgMORF3、AgMORF7、AgMORF8和AgMORF9。根据序列预测了其理化性质、保守基序、顺式作用元件和蛋白质相互作用。进一步分析了芹菜与其他伞形科植物中MORF基因之间的系统发育关系和进化选择压力。结果表明，AgMORF1b、AgMORF2a、AgMORF2b和AgMORF9预计定位于叶绿体中。芹菜、胡萝卜、香菜和水芹这4种伞形科植物中MORF基因的进化受纯化选择影响。转录组数据显示，在芹菜叶柄的所有MORF基因中，AgMORF2a、AgMORF2b、AgMORF8和AgMORF9的转录水平相对较高，表明它们起主要作用。RT-qPCR数据显示，上述4个基因在绿芹叶柄中的表达水平显著高于白芹。本研究为分析MORF蛋白对不同叶绿素积累量芹菜叶绿体发育的影响提供了依据。
