RESUMO
Plant annexins are Ca(2+)- and phospholipid-binding proteins forming an evolutionary conserved multi-gene family. They are implicated in the regulation of plant growth, development, and stress responses. With the availability of the maize genome sequence information, we identified 12 members of the maize annexin genes. Analysis of protein sequence and gene structure of maize annexins led to their classification into five different orthologous groups. Expression analysis by RT-PCR revealed that these genes are responsive to heavy metals (Ni, Zn, and Cd). The maize annexin genes were also found to be regulated by Ustilago maydis and jasmonic acid. Additionally, the promoter of the maize annexin gene was analyzed for the presence of different stress-responsive cis-elements, such as ABRE, W-box, GCC-box, and G-box. RT-PCR and microarray data show that all 12 maize annexin genes present differential, organ-specific expression patterns in the maize developmental steps. These results indicate that maize annexin genes may play important roles in the adaptation of plants to various environmental stresses.
Assuntos
Anexinas/genética , Ciclopentanos/farmacologia , Metais Pesados/toxicidade , Oxilipinas/farmacologia , Zea mays/efeitos dos fármacos , Zea mays/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Anexinas/química , Anexinas/metabolismo , Sequência de Bases , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de Plantas/efeitos dos fármacos , Genes de Plantas/genética , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Especificidade de Órgãos/efeitos dos fármacos , Especificidade de Órgãos/genética , Filogenia , Proteínas de Plantas/química , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas/genética , Estresse Fisiológico/efeitos dos fármacos , Estresse Fisiológico/genética , Zea mays/crescimento & desenvolvimentoRESUMO
Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) is an important model organism for fundamental research in the agro-biotechnology field. Aldehydes were generated in response to a suite of environmental stresses that perturb metabolism including salinity, dehydration, desiccation, and cold and heat shock. Many biologically important aldehydes are metabolized by the superfamily of NAD(P)(+)-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenases. Here, starting from the database of Z. mays, we identified 28 aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) genes and 48 transcripts by the in silico cloning method using the ALDH-conserved domain amino acid sequence of Arabidopsis and rice as a probe. Phylogenetic analysis shows that all 28 members of the ALDH gene families were classified to ten distinct subfamilies. Microarray data and quantitative real-time PCR analysis reveal that ZmALDH9, ZmALDH13, and ZmALDH17 genes involve the function of drought stress, acid tolerance, and pathogens infection. These results suggested that these three ZmALDH genes might be potentially useful in maize genetic improvement.
