Abstract
Valine-glutamine (VQ) genes play important roles in plant growth, development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, little is known regarding VQ gene characteristics in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Here, 20 VQ genes were identified and classified into seven groups (I-VII) that are distributed among 11 chromosomes within the sunflower genome. Based on phylogenetic analyses, HaVQ genes that clustered within the same branches shared similar motifs and structures. Most HaVQ genes exhibited tissue-specific expression patterns suggesting putative roles in plant drought and salt stress responses, with several HaVQ proteins predicted to interact with HaWRKY proteins. The results of this study should enhance our knowledge regarding HaVQ genes and should guide future studies to explore the biological functions of HaVQ proteins during various developmental processes and stress responses in sunflower.
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Abbreviations
- VQ:
-
Valine-glutamine
- HMM:
-
Hidden Markov model
- PGDD:
-
Plant genome duplication database
- qRT-PCR:
-
Quantitative real-time PCR
- MYA:
-
Million years ago
- Ks:
-
Synonymous
- Ka:
-
Nonsynonymous
- WGD:
-
Whole genome duplication
- TAIR:
-
The Arabidopsis information resource
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Heilongjiang Provincial Government Postdoctoral Funding (Grant NumberLBH-Z17204) and the National Specialty Oil Industry Technology System(Grant Number CARS-14-1-06) and Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Fund (Grant Number 2018YYYF033) and Postdoctoral Research Fund of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant Number LBR 194206) and the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (201507-42). Thanks to Dr. Ma Ligong from Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences for their help in data analysis.
Funding
This study was funded by the Heilongjiang Provincial Government Postdoctoral Funding (Grant NumberLBH-Z17204) and the National Specialty Oil Industry Technology System (Grant Number CARS-14-1-06) and Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Fund (Grant Number 2018YYYF033) and Postdoctoral Research Fund of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant Number LBR 194206) and the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (201507-42).
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JM, LL, XH, and GW conceived and designed research. JM and LL conducted experiments and analyzed data. WW, MZ, CL, and YW contributed to the experiments and data analysis. JM and LL wrote and revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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13562_2020_568_MOESM1_ESM.jpg
Supplemental Figure 1 Exon-intron structural analyses of HaVQ genes. Lengths of exons and introns of each HaVQ gene are drawn to scale (JPG 276 kb)
13562_2020_568_MOESM2_ESM.jpg
Supplemental Figure 2 Multiple sequence alignment of sunflower VQ proteins. Sequences were aligned using Jalview software. The highly conserved motif is FxxxVQxxTG (JPG 14429 kb)
13562_2020_568_MOESM3_ESM.jpg
Supplemental Figure 3 Chromosomal locations and analysis of duplication events of HaVQ genes. The gray box shows a tandem duplication event and the blue line shows a fragment duplication event (JPG 10153 kb)
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Ma, J., Ling, L., Huang, X. et al. Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the VQ gene family in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. 30, 56–66 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-020-00568-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-020-00568-7