Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the APETALA2 (AP2) Transcription Factor in <em>Dendrobium officinale</em>

Danqi Zeng; Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva; Mingze Zhang; Zhenming Yu; Can Si; Conghui Zhao; Guangyi Dai; Chunmei He; Jun Duan

doi:10.3390/ijms22105221

International Journal of Molecular Sciences (May 2021)

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the APETALA2 (AP2) Transcription Factor in <em>Dendrobium officinale</em>

Danqi Zeng,
Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva,
Mingze Zhang,
Zhenming Yu,
Can Si,
Conghui Zhao,
Guangyi Dai,
Chunmei He,
Jun Duan

Affiliations

Danqi Zeng: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva: Independent Researcher, P. O. Box 7, Ikenobe 3011-2, Miki-cho, Kagawa-ken 761-0799, Japan
Mingze Zhang: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Zhenming Yu: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Can Si: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Conghui Zhao: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Guangyi Dai: Opening Public Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Chunmei He: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
Jun Duan: Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22105221
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 22, no. 10
p. 5221

Abstract

Read online

The APETALA2 (AP2) transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in regulating development in plants. However, a comprehensive analysis of the AP2 family members in a valuable Chinese herbal orchid, Dendrobium officinale, or in other orchids, is limited. In this study, the 14 DoAP2 TFs that were identified from the D. officinale genome and named DoAP2-1 to DoAP2-14 were divided into three clades: euAP2, euANT, and basalANT. The promoters of all DoAP2 genes contained cis-regulatory elements related to plant development and also responsive to plant hormones and stress. qRT-PCR analysis showed the abundant expression of DoAP2-2, DoAP2-5, DoAP2-7, DoAP2-8 and DoAP2-12 genes in protocorm-like bodies (PLBs), while DoAP2-3, DoAP2-4, DoAP2-6, DoAP2-9, DoAP2-10 and DoAP2-11 expression was strong in plantlets. In addition, the expression of some DoAP2 genes was down-regulated during flower development. These results suggest that DoAP2 genes may play roles in plant regeneration and flower development in D. officinale. Four DoAP2 genes (DoAP2-1 from euAP2, DoAP2-2 from euANT, and DoAP2-6 and DoAP2-11 from basal ANT) were selected for further analyses. The transcriptional activation of DoAP2-1, DoAP2-2, DoAP2-6 and DoAP2-11 proteins, which were localized in the nucleus of Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll protoplasts, was further analyzed by a dual-luciferase reporter gene system in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Our data showed that pBD-DoAP2-1, pBD-DoAP2-2, pBD-DoAP2-6 and pBD-DoAP2-11 significantly repressed the expression of the LUC reporter compared with the negative control (pBD), suggesting that these DoAP2 proteins may act as transcriptional repressors in the nucleus of plant cells. Our findings on AP2 genes in D. officinale shed light on the function of AP2 genes in this orchid and other plant species.

Published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences

ISSN: 1661-6596 (Print); 1422-0067 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Biology (General); Science: Chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords