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Genome-wide analysis of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter gene family in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

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Abstract

The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily is a larger protein family with diverse physiological functions in all kingdoms of life. We identified 53 ABC transporters in the silkworm genome, and classified them into eight subfamilies (A–H). Comparative genome analysis revealed that the silkworm has an expanded ABCC subfamily with more members than Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, or Homo sapiens. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the ABCE and ABCF genes were highly conserved in the silkworm, indicating possible involvement in fundamental biological processes. Five multidrug resistance-related genes in the ABCB subfamily and two multidrug resistance-associated-related genes in the ABCC subfamily indicated involvement in biochemical defense. Genetic variation analysis revealed four ABC genes that might be evolving under positive selection. Moreover, the silkworm ABCC4 gene might be important for silkworm domestication. Microarray analysis showed that the silkworm ABC genes had distinct expression patterns in different tissues on day 3 of the fifth instar. These results might provide new insights for further functional studies on the ABC genes in the silkworm genome.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2012CB114600), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. CDJZR10290003), the National Natural Science Foundation (No. 30901054 and 31001034), and the Chongqing Natural Science Foundation (No. 2009BB1368). We gratefully acknowledge the International Science Editing for editing the manuscript. We also gratefully thank editors and anonymous referees for their recommendations and useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Institute of Agricultural and Life Science, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Xiaodong Xie, Tingcai Cheng, Genhong Wang, Jun Duan & Weihuan Niu

  2. The Institute of Agricultural and Life Science, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Tingcai Cheng

  3. State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Qingyou Xia

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  1. Xiaodong Xie
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Correspondence to Tingcai Cheng or Qingyou Xia.

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Xie, X., Cheng, T., Wang, G. et al. Genome-wide analysis of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter gene family in the silkworm, Bombyx mori . Mol Biol Rep 39, 7281–7291 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-012-1558-3

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