Effects of trimer repeats on Psidium guajava L. gene expression and prospection of functional microsatellite markers

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-04, Vol.14 (1), p.9811-9811, Article 9811
• Main Authors: Pires, Giovanna Pinto, Fioresi, Vinicius Sartori, Canal, Drielli, Canal, Dener Cezati, Fernandes, Miquéias, Brustolini, Otávio José Bernardes, de Avelar Carpinetti, Paola, Ferreira, Adésio, da Silva Ferreira, Marcia Flores
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/208/212; 631/208/2491; 631/208/711; 631/208/721; 631/208/8; Cell membranes; Cultivars; Cytosine; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genetic diversity; Genetic markers; Geographical distribution; Guava cultivars; Human diseases; Humanities and Social Sciences; Leaves; Membranes; Microsatellite Repeats - genetics; Microsatellites; multidisciplinary; Pharmacology; Plant breeding; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plant species; Psidium - genetics; Psidium guajava; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); SSR; Structural analysis; Tissue; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Trinucleotide repeat diseases; Trinucleotide repeat expansions; Trinucleotide repeats; Trinucleotide Repeats - genetics
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60417-8

Most research on trinucleotide repeats (TRs) focuses on human diseases, with few on the impact of TR expansions on plant gene expression. This work investigates TRs' effect on global gene expression in Psidium guajava L., a plant species with widespread distribution and significant relevance in the food, pharmacology, and economics sectors. We analyzed TR-containing coding sequences in 1,107 transcripts from 2,256 genes across root, shoot, young leaf, old leaf, and flower bud tissues of the Brazilian guava cultivars Cortibel RM and Paluma. Structural analysis revealed TR sequences with small repeat numbers (5–9) starting with cytosine or guanine or containing these bases. Functional annotation indicated TR-containing genes' involvement in cellular structures and processes (especially cell membranes and signal recognition), stress response, and resistance. Gene expression analysis showed significant variation, with a subset of highly expressed genes in both cultivars. Differential expression highlighted numerous down-regulated genes in Cortibel RM tissues, but not in Paluma, suggesting interplay between tissues and cultivars. Among 72 differentially expressed genes with TRs, 24 form miRNAs, 13 encode transcription factors, and 11 are associated with transposable elements. In addition, a set of 20 SSR-annotated, transcribed, and differentially expressed genes with TRs was selected as phenotypic markers for Psidium guajava and, potentially for closely related species as well.