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Genome-wide identification and phylogenetic analysis of Family-1 UDP glycosyltransferases in maize (Zea mays)

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Abstract

Family-1 UDP glycosyltransferases (UGTs) from plants transfer sugar moieties from activated sugar donors to a wide range of small molecules, and control many metabolic processes during plant growth and development. Here, we report a genome-wide analysis of maize that identified 147 Family-1 glycosyltransferases based on their conserved PSPG motifs. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes with 18 Arabidopsis UGTs and two rice UGTs clustered them into 17 groups (A–Q). The patterns of intron gain/loss events, as well as their positions within UGTs from the same group, further aided elucidation of their divergence and evolutionary relationships between UGTs. Expression analysis of the maize UGT genes using both online microarray data and quantitative real-time PCR verification indicates that UGT genes are widely expressed in various tissues and likely play important roles in plant growth and development. Our study provides useful information on the Family-1 UGTs in maize, and will facilitate their further characterization to better understand their functions.

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Abbreviations

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

ORF:

Open reading frame

PSPG:

Plant secondary product glycosyltransferase

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction

UDP:

Uridine diphosphate

UGT:

Uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase

ZOG:

Cis-zeatin O-glucosyltransferase

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 91217301) and from the key lab of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Education Ministry of China (No. 2012-01). The authors thank Dr. Stefan Martens (FEM-IASMA Res and Innovation Centre, San Michele All Adige, Italy) for kindly providing the sequences of rice UGTs from group P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Lab of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, Education Ministry of China, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Yanjie Li, Pan Li, Yong Wang, Ruirui Dong & Bingkai Hou

  2. School of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Yanjie Li, Pan Li, Yong Wang, Ruirui Dong & Bingkai Hou

  3. Department of Biology, QiLu Normal University, Jinan, 250013, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Huimin Yu

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  1. Yanjie Li
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  2. Pan Li
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  3. Yong Wang
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  4. Ruirui Dong
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  5. Huimin Yu
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  6. Bingkai Hou
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Correspondence to Bingkai Hou.

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Supplemental Table S1 Primers used for qRT-PCR

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Li, Y., Li, P., Wang, Y. et al. Genome-wide identification and phylogenetic analysis of Family-1 UDP glycosyltransferases in maize (Zea mays). Planta 239, 1265–1279 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2050-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2050-1

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