Cloning and tissue expression analysis of TIFY genes in Luffa cylindrica

Abstract

[Objective] TIFY gene are involved in the regulation of growth and development in plants. This experiment involves the identification of the TIFY family members in Luffa cylindrica, selecting the highly expressed members in fruits, and further cloning and investigating their expression patterns in different tissues, in order to provide basis for the functional identification of these genes. [Methods] Bioinformatics methods were used to identify the TIFY gene family members in L. cylindrica. Transcriptome analysis was performed to screen the highly expressed members in L. cylindrica fruits, followed by cloning genes using RT-PCR. Tissue expression was analyzed using qRT-PCR. [Results] L. cylindrica genome contains 17 TIFY genes, which were unevenly distributed across 9 chromosomes, with CDS lengths ranging from 297 bp to 1 353 bp, classifing into four subfamilies. Transcriptome analysis revealed that LcTIFY2, LcTIFY7, LcTIFY11, and LcTIFY13 were highly expressed in L. cylindrica fruits. The CDS sequences of these genes were cloned, comprising 3, 5, 6, and 2 exons, respectively. Tissue expression analysis indicated that all four genes had the highest expression in the peel of L. cylindrica fruits. Additionally, LcTIFY7 and LcTIFY13 showed significantly higher expression in reproductive organs, while LcTIFY11 exhibited significantly higher expression in female flower buds and ovaries. [Conclusion] The TIFY family members LcTIFY2, LcTIFY7, LcTIFY11 and LcTIFY13 may play roles in reproductive growth and fruit development in L. cylindrica.

Keywords

• luffa cylindrica
• gene expression of tify
• fruit development