Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of <i>USP</i> Gene Family in Grapes (<i>Vitis vinifera</i> L.)

Abstract

With the frequent occurrence of extreme natural disasters, unfavorable growth environment is a common phenomenon in the life cycle of plants. In recent years, universal stress proteins (USPs) have attracted extensive attention in the field of plant science for their expression patterns and functional analysis. However, the characterization of the USP family remains unclear in grape. In this study, we identified 30 VvUSPs in the grape genome, which could be divided into three classes according to their encoded protein sequences, and this classification was reflected by the distribution of conserved motifs. Gene duplication analysis demonstrated that segmental duplication was an important pathway in the expansion of the VvUSP family. The expression patterns of 12 VvUSPs were significantly different between tissues, implying they had different functions in various tissues. Cis-acting element and expression analysis showed that most of the promoter regions of VvUSPs contained sequences responsive to hormones and stress elements, especially the promoter region of VIT_16s0013g01920. In conclusion, our findings provide comprehensive information for the further investigation of the genetics and protein functions of the USP gene family in grape.

Keywords

• grape
• universal stress protein
• abiotic stress
• hormone