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The F-box family genes as key elements in response to salt, heavy mental, and drought stresses in Medicago truncatula

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Abstract

F-box protein is a subunit of Skp1-Rbx1-Cul1-F-box protein (SCF) complex with typically conserved F-box motifs of approximately 40 amino acids and is one of the largest protein families in eukaryotes. F-box proteins play critical roles in selective and specific protein degradation through the 26S proteasome. In this study, we bioinformatically identified 972 putative F-box proteins from Medicago truncatula genome. Our analysis showed that in addition to the conserved motif, the F-box proteins have several other functional domains in their C-terminal regions (e.g., LRRs, Kelch, FBA, and PP2), some of which were found to be M. truncatula species-specific. By phylogenetic analysis of the F-box motifs, these proteins can be classified into three major families, and each family can be further grouped into more subgroups. Analysis of the genomic distribution of F-box genes on M. truncatula chromosomes revealed that the evolutional expansion of F-box genes in M. truncatula was probably due to localized gene duplications. To investigate the possible response of the F-box genes to abiotic stresses, both publicly available and customer-prepared microarrays were analyzed. Most of the F-box protein genes can be responding to salt and heavy metal stresses. Real-time PCR analysis confirmed that some of the F-box protein genes containing heat, drought, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid responsive cis-elements were able to respond to the abiotic stresses.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31071343 and 31200204) and Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province plans to graduate research and innovation (KYZZ_0181).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang No. 1, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Jian Bo Song, Yan Xiang Wang, Hai Bo Li, Bo Wen Li, Zhao Sheng Zhou, Shuai Gao & Zhi Min Yang

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Science, Jiang Xi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China

    Jian Bo Song

  3. Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Marine Biology, College of Resources and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Jian Bo Song, Yan Xiang Wang, Hai Bo Li, Bo Wen Li, Zhao Sheng Zhou, Shuai Gao & Zhi Min Yang

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  1. Jian Bo Song
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Correspondence to Zhao Sheng Zhou or Zhi Min Yang.

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Song, J.B., Wang, Y.X., Li, H.B. et al. The F-box family genes as key elements in response to salt, heavy mental, and drought stresses in Medicago truncatula . Funct Integr Genomics 15, 495–507 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-015-0438-z

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