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Genomic surveys and expression analysis of bZIP gene family in castor bean (Ricinus communis L.)

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Abstract

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors comprise a family of transcriptional regulators present extensively in plants, involved in regulating diverse biological processes such as flower and vascular development, seed maturation, stress signaling and pathogen defense. Castor bean (Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae) is one of the most important non-edible oilseed crops and its seed oil is broadly used for industrial applications. We performed a comprehensive genome-wide identification and analysis of the bZIP transcription factors that exist in the castor bean genome in this study. In total, 49 RcbZIP transcription factors were identified, characterized and categorized into 11 groups (I–XI) based on their gene structure, DNA-binding sites, conserved motifs, and phylogenetic relationships. The dimerization properties of 49 RcbZIP proteins were predicted on the basis of the characteristic features in the leucine zipper. Global expression profiles of 49 RcbZIP genes among different tissues were examined using high-throughput sequencing of digital gene expression profiles, and resulted in diverse expression patterns that may provide basic information to further reveal the function of the 49 RcbZIP genes in castor bean. The results obtained from this study would provide valuable information in understanding the molecular basis of the RcbZIP transcription factor family and their potential function in regulating the growth and development, particularly in seed filling of castor bean.

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Abbreviations

Leu:

Leucine

Asn:

Asparagines

bZIP:

Basic leucine zipper

DGE:

Digital gene expression profiling

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Acknowledgments

We thank Zibo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shandong, China for providing the seeds of castor bean var. ZB306 elite inbred line. This work was supported by the “Hundreds of Talents” program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AL).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefu Road, Kunming, 650223, China

    Zhengwei Jin & Aizhong Liu

  2. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Kunming, 650204, China

    Wei Xu & Aizhong Liu

  3. School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 443 Huangshan Road, Hefei, 230027, China

    Zhengwei Jin

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  1. Zhengwei Jin
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Correspondence to Aizhong Liu.

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Jin, Z., Xu, W. & Liu, A. Genomic surveys and expression analysis of bZIP gene family in castor bean (Ricinus communis L.). Planta 239, 299–312 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-013-1979-9

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