Bioinformatics and expression analyses of ethylene response factor genes in Medicago

Abstract

Abstract: Ethylene response factors are plant-special transcription factors involved in plant growth and development. The Arabidopsis AP2 domain was used as a probe to search the NCBI Medicago protein database and to analyze the phyletic evolution, secondary structure, hydrophobicity, signal peptide, subcellular localization of Medicago ethylene response factors using bioinformatics software. Primers were designed based on the sequences obtained to analyze the expression patterns of MsERF genes (MsERF1, MsERF2, MsERF6, MsERF7, MsERF9). The MsERF genes had high expression levels in leaves and showed significant differences of expression in different tissues. The expression of MsERF2 was not induced by NaCl and PEG-6000, but was promoted by Al₂(SO₄)₃. The expression of other genes was induced by these three treatments, but the expression patterns were different. ABA reduced the expression of these genes except for MsERF2. IAA had no effect on the expression of these genes except MsERF6. GA₃, MeJA, and Eth reduced the expression of all five genes. This research established a solid foundation to further study the function of these genes and provided evidence to study the cross-talk in different signal pathways.

CLC Number:

CHEN Ting-ting,YANG Qing-chuan, ZHANG Xin-quan, KANG Jun-mei, DING Wang, ZHANG Tie-jun. Bioinformatics and expression analyses of ethylene response factor genes in Medicago[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2012, 21(6): 166-174.

References

[1] Liu Q, Zhang G Y, Chen S Y. Structure and regulatory function of plant transcription factors[J]. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2001, 46(4): 271-278.
[2] Jack K, Okamur O, Caster B, et al. The AP2 domain of APETALA2 defines a large new family of DNA binding protein in Arabidopsis[J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 1997, 94(6): 7076-7081.
[3] Nakano T, Suzuki K, Fujimura T, et al. Genome-wide analysis of the ERF gene family in Arabidopsis and rice[J]. Plant Physiology, 2006, 140(2): 411-432.
[4] Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K, Shinozaki K. A novel cis-acting element in an Arabidopsis gene is involved in responsiveness to drought, low-temperature, or high-salt stress[J]. The Plant Cell, 1994, 6(2): 251-264.
[5] 王舟, 刘建秀. DREB/CBF类转录因子研究进展及其在草坪草和牧草抗逆基因工程中的应用[J].草业学报, 2011, 20(1): 222-236.
[6] 刘晓静, 郝凤, 张德罡, 等. 抗冻基因CBF2表达载体构建及转化紫花苜蓿的研究[J].草业学报, 2011, 20(2): 193-200.
[7] Hao D Y, Ohme-Takagi M, Sarai A. Unique mode of GCC box recognition by the DNA-binding domain of ethylene-responsive element-binding factor (ERF domain) in plant[J]. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1998, 273(41): 26857-26861.
[8] 杨红善, 常根柱, 周学辉, 等. 美国引进苜蓿品种半湿润区栽培试验[J]. 草业学报, 2010, 19(1): 121-127.
[9] 张改娜, 贾敬芬. 豌豆清蛋白1(PAl)基因的克隆及对苜蓿的转化[J]. 草业学报, 2009, 18(3): 117-125.
[10] Bleecker A B, Kende H. ETHYLENE: A gaseous signal molecule in plants[J]. Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology, 2000, 16: 1-18.
[11] Chang C. The ethylene signal transduction pathway in Arabidopsis: an emerging paradigm[J]. Trends in Biochemistry Science, 1996, 21(4): 129-133.
[12] Ecker J. The ethylene signal transduction pathway in plants[J]. Science, 1995, 268: 667-675.
[13] 江腾, 林勇祥, 刘雪, 等. 苜蓿全基因组WRKY转录因子基因的分析[J]. 草业学报, 2011, 20(3): 211-218.
[14] Menke F L H, Champion A, Kijne J W, et al. A novel jasmonate- and elicitor-responsive element in the periwinkle secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene Str interacts with a jasmonate- and elicitor-inducible AP2-domain transcription factor, ORCA2[J]. The EMBO Journal, 1999, 18: 4455-4463.
[15] Van der Fits L, Memelink J. The jasmonate-inducible AP2/ERF-domain transcription factor ORCA3 activates gene expression via interaction with a jasmonate-responsive promoter element[J]. The Plant Journal, 2001, 25(1): 43-53.
[16] Zhang G Y, Chen M, Li L C, et al. Overexpression of the soybean GmERF3 gene, an AP2/ERF type transcription factor for increased tolerances to salt, drought, and diseases in transgenic tobacco[J]. Journal of Experimental Botany, 2009, 60(13): 3781-3796.
[17] Mauch-Mani B, Mauch F. The role of abscisic acid in plant-pathogen interactions[J]. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 2005, 8(4): 409-414.
[18] Thara V K, Tang X Y, Gu Y Q, et al. Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato induces the expression of tomato EREBP-like genes Pti4 and Pti5 independent of ethylene, salicylate and jasmonate[J]. The Plant Journal, 1999, 20(4): 475-483.
[19] Liu Q, Kasuga M, Sakuma Y, et al. Two transcription factors, DREB1 and DREB2, with an EREBP/AP2 DNA binding domain separate two cellular signal transduction pathways in drought-and low-temperature-responsive gene expression, respectively, in Arabidopsis[J]. The Plant cell, 1998, 10: 1391-1406.
[20] Seo Y J, Park J B, Cho Y J, et al. Overexpression of the ethylene-responsive factor gene BrERF4 from brassica rapa increases tolerance to salt and drought in Arabidopsis Plants[J]. Molecules and Cells, 2010, 30: 271-277.
[21] Zhang H W, Liu W, Wan L Y, et al. Functional analyses of ethylene response factor JERF3 with the aim of improving tolerance to drought and osmotic stress in transgenic rice[J]. Transgenic Research, 2010, 19: 809-818.
[22] Zhang Z J, Li F, Li D J, et al. Expression of ethylene response factor JERF1 in rice improves tolerance to drought[J]. Planta, 2010, 232: 765-774.