The GRAS gene family and its roles in seed development in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn)

The GRAS gene family plays crucial roles in multiple biological processes of plant growth, including seed development, which is related to seedless traits of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). However, it hasn't been fully identified and analyzed in litchi, an economic fruit tree cultivated in su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC plant biology 2021-09, Vol.21 (1), p.1-423, Article 423
Main Authors: Chen, Jingwen, Yan, Qian, Li, Jiawei, Feng, Lei, Zhang, Yi, Xu, Jing, Xia, Rui, Zeng, Zaohai, Liu, Yuanlong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological activity
Chromosomes
Cultivation
Development
Economic analysis
Fruit cultivation
Fruit trees
Fruits
Gene expression
Genes
Genetic aspects
Genomes
GRAS gene family
Litchi
Litchi chinensis
miR171
Phase transitions
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Physiological aspects
Plant growth
Plant proteins
Plants
Proteins
Seed development
Seeds
Signal transduction
Soapberries
Synteny
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Summary:The GRAS gene family plays crucial roles in multiple biological processes of plant growth, including seed development, which is related to seedless traits of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). However, it hasn't been fully identified and analyzed in litchi, an economic fruit tree cultivated in subtropical regions. In this study, 48 LcGRAS proteins were identified and termed according to their chromosomal location. LcGRAS proteins can be categorized into 14 subfamilies through phylogenetic analysis. Gene structure and conserved domain analysis revealed that different subfamilies harbored various motif patterns, suggesting their functional diversity. Synteny analysis revealed that the expansion of the GRAS family in litchi may be driven by their tandem and segmental duplication. After comprehensively analysing degradome data, we found that four LcGRAS genes belong to HAM subfamily were regulated via miR171-mediated degradation. The various expression patterns of LcGRAS genes in different tissues uncovered they were involved in different biological processes. Moreover, the different temporal expression profiles of LcGRAS genes between abortive and bold seed indicated some of them were involved in maintaining the normal development of the seed. Our study provides comprehensive analyses on GRAS family members in litchi, insight into a better understanding of the roles of GRAS in litchi development, and lays the foundation for further investigations on litchi seed development.
ISSN:1471-2229
1471-2229
DOI:10.1186/s12870-021-03193-1