title: Pseudo-response regulator (PRR) homologues of the moss Physcomitrella patens: insights into the evolution of the PRR family in land plants.
abstract: The pseudo-response regulators (PRRs) are the circadian clock component proteins in the model dicot Arabidopsis thaliana. They contain a receiver-like domain (RLD) similar to the receiver domains of the RRs in the His-Asp phosphorelay system, but the RLDs lack the phosphoacceptor aspartic acid residue invariably conserved in the receiver domains. To study the evolution of PRR genes in plants, here we characterize their homologue genes, PpPRR1, PpPRR2, PpPRR3 and PpPRR4, from the moss Physcomitrella patens. In the phylogenetic analysis, PpPRRs cluster together, sister to an angiosperm PRR gene subfamily, illustrating their close relationships with the angiosperm PRRs. However, distinct from the angiosperm sequences, the RLDs of PpPRR2/3/4 exhibit a potential phosphoacceptor aspartic acid-aspartic acid-lysine (DDK) motif. Consistently, the PpPRR2 RLD had phosphotransfer ability in vitro, suggesting that PpPRR2 functions as an RR. The PpPRR1 RLD, on the other hand, shows a partially diverged DDK motif, and it did not show phosphotransfer ability. All PpPRRs were expressed in a circadian and light-dependent manner, with differential regulation between PpPRR2/4 and PpPRR1/3. Altogether, our results illustrate that PRRs originated from an RR(s) and that there are intraspecific divergences among PpPRRs. Finally, we offer scenarios for the evolution of the PRR family in land plants.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Santosh B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Satbhai
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashino
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nomoto
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tezuka
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otsuki
authors.forename: Setsuyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aoki
mesh_terms: D019068:Bryopsida / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors