Genome-wide Analysis and Characterization of Eucalyptus grandis TCP Transcription Factors

Abstract

Teosinte branched/Cycloidea/Proliferating cell factors (TCPs), a small transcription gene family, serve in developmental processes such as branching, flowering, and growth of plants. In this study, the TCP transcription gene family of eucalyptus, which is considered important for its medicinal and industrial uses, was bioinformatically investigated. A total of 16 Eucalyptus grandis TCP (Egra-TCP) genes were found to be distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11. Several segmentally-duplicated gene couples including Egra-TCP-7/Egra-TCP-11, -13 and -16, Egra-TCP-6/Egra-TCP-12 and -15, Egra-TCP-12/Egra-TCP-15 and Egra-TCP-11/Egra-TCP-13 were discovered. Egra-TCPs were divided into three main clades based on phylogenetic analysis, motif, and gene structure. While Egra-TCP-10 has the highest molecular weight with 47.19 kDa, the lowest was Egra-TCP-1 with 21.68 kDa. Twelve Egra-TCP genes were found to have no introns, while the Egra-TCP-7, -15, and -16 genes had a single intron. The orthologous relationships among E. grandis/Arabidopsis thaliana and E. grandis/Vitis vinifera were identified through a synteny analysis. Digital gene expression profiles of Egra-TCP genes in tissues such as xylem, phloem, shoot tips, young and mature leaf revealed a high expression pattern. The findings of this study contributes to existing knowledge in the biotechnology field by providing contributing to our understanding of the molecular basis of the TCP gene family in the eucalyptus plant.

Keywords

• bhlh domain
• cyc/tb1 clade
• digital gene expression
• phylogenetic analysis
• tcp transcription factors