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Cloning and expression profiling polycomb gene VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3 in tomato

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3 (VIN3) is a chromatin remodelling protein that is induced by low temperatures and is required for the vernalization response in Arabidopsis thaliana. VIN3 is one of the polycomb group (PcG) proteins, which mediates epigenetic repression of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) in A. thaliana. Here, we present cloning, characterization, and expression of a putative SlVIN3 gene in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) by isolating cDNA clones corresponding to SlVIN3 gene using primers designed based on conserved sequences between PcG genes in A. thaliana and tomato. The SlVIN3 cDNAs were cloned into a pBS plasmid and sequenced. Both 5′ and 3′ RACE were generated and sequenced. The flcDNA of 2 823 bp length for the SlVIN3 gene was composed of 5’UTR (336 bp), ORF (2 217 bp), and 3’UTR (270 bp). The translated ORF encoded a polypeptide of 739 amino acids. Alignment of deduced amino acids indicates that there are highly conserved regions between tomato SlVIN3 predicted protein and plant VIN3 gene family members. Both unrooted phylogenetic trees constructed using the maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods indicate that there is a close relationship between SlVIN3 predicted protein and VIN3 protein of Vitis vinifera. The expression of SlVIN3 gene remained high during floral organ differentiation and growth and decreased when the fruit started to develop.

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Abbreviations

BAC:

bacterial artificial chromosomes

EST:

expressed sequence tag

FLC:

flowering locus C

FlcDNA:

full length cDNA

FN3:

fibronectin type 3 domain

ORF:

open reading frame

PcG:

polycomb group

PHD:

plant homeodomain

RT-qPCR:

real time quantitative PCR

SGN:

Solanaceae genomics network database

SlVIN3 :

Solanum lycopersicum vernalization insensitive 3

UTR:

untranslated region

VID:

VIN3-interacting domain

VIL:

vernalization insensitive like

VIN 3:

VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3

VRN:

vernalization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, College of Science and Humanities, Salman bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia

    Z. M. Almutairi

  2. Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    M. T. Sadder

  3. Plant Biotechnology Lab, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan

    M. T. Sadder

Authors
  1. Z. M. Almutairi
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  2. M. T. Sadder
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Correspondence to Z. M. Almutairi.

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Acknowledgements: The authors are greatly indebted to Dr. K. Abo-Khabar, the director of the Biomolecular Research Department in King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, and other staff members for giving the opportunity to work in the laboratory and for technical assistance with cDNA sequencing. This work was supported by a grant from the Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research in King Saud University (No. CEBR-GSRP 01/2010).

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Almutairi, Z.M., Sadder, M.T. Cloning and expression profiling polycomb gene VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3 in tomato. Biol Plant 58, 419–426 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-014-0421-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-014-0421-x

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