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Expression analysis of genes encoding double B-box zinc finger proteins in maize

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Abstract

The B-box proteins play key roles in plant development. The double B-box (DBB) family is one of the subfamily of the B-box family, with two B-box domains and without a CCT domain. In this study, 12 maize double B-box genes (ZmDBBs) were identified through a genome-wide survey. Phylogenetic analysis of DBB proteins from maize, rice, Sorghum bicolor, Arabidopsis, and poplar classified them into five major clades. Gene duplication analysis indicated that segmental duplications made a large contribution to the expansion of ZmDBBs. Furthermore, a large number of cis-acting regulatory elements related to plant development, response to light and phytohormone were identified in the promoter regions of the ZmDBB genes. The expression patterns of the ZmDBB genes in various tissues and different developmental stages demonstrated that ZmDBBs might play essential roles in plant development, and some ZmDBB genes might have unique function in specific developmental stages. In addition, several ZmDBB genes showed diurnal expression pattern. The expression levels of some ZmDBB genes changed significantly under light/dark treatment conditions and phytohormone treatments, implying that they might participate in light signaling pathway and hormone signaling. Our results will provide new information to better understand the complexity of the DBB gene family in maize.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Taishan Scholar Seed Industry Plan: germplasm innovation and breeding for early maturity, high density, and suitable for mechanical harvest in maize project from the government of Shandong Province of the People’s Republic of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maize Research Institute, National Engineering Laboratory of Wheat and Maize, Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Maize in Northern Yellow-huai River Plain, Ministry of Agriculture, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Wenlan Li, Qi Sun, Wencai Li, Yanli Yu, Meng Zhao & Zhaodong Meng

  2. Shandong Product Quality Inspection Research Institute, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Jingchao Wang

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  1. Wenlan Li
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  5. Yanli Yu
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Correspondence to Zhaodong Meng.

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Li, W., Wang, J., Sun, Q. et al. Expression analysis of genes encoding double B-box zinc finger proteins in maize. Funct Integr Genomics 17, 653–666 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-017-0562-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-017-0562-z

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