title: GmFtsH9 expression correlates with in vivo photosystem II function: chlorophyll a fluorescence transient analysis and eQTL mapping in soybean.
abstract: Filamentation temperature-sensitive H (FtsH) is an ATP-dependent zinc metalloprotease involved in diverse biological functions. There are 12 FtsH proteins in Arabidopsis, among which AtFtsH2 plays an important role in regulating the turnover of photosystem II (PSII) reaction center D1 protein and the development of the photosynthetic apparatus. Here, we have identified 11 FtsH genes in the soybean genome by a bioinformatics approach. These soybean FtsH genes corresponded to seven Arabidopsis FtsH genes, suggesting that the main characteristics of soybean FtsH genes were formed before the evolutionary split of soybean and Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analyses allowed us to clone a soybean AtFtsH2-like gene designated as GmFtsH9. The predicted protein of GmFtsH9 consists of 690 amino acids and contains three typical FtsH proteins conserved domains. The expression level of GmFtsH9 was determined in a soybean recombinant inbred line population under a pot experiment conducted for measuring chlorophyll a fluorescence transient parameters, photosynthetic CO(2) fixation rate (P                         (N)), and seed yield. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping revealed two trans-acting eQTLs for GmFtsH9. The significant correlation of gene expression level with chlorophyll a fluorescence transient parameters and the presence of overlapping eQTL (QTL) between gene expression level and chlorophyll a fluorescence transient parameters indicated that GmFtsH9 could be involved in regulating PSII function. These results further lead to the understanding of the mechanism underlying FtsH gene expression, and contribute to the development of marker-assisted selection breeding programs for modulating soybean FtsH gene expression.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Soybean Improvement, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China. ztyin@yzu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Zhitong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Fanfan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Haina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Maoni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Guozheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Dexiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Deyue
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D057486:Carbon Cycle; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019295:Computational Biology; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D005453:Fluorescence; D018745:Genome, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D008027:Light; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045726:Metalloproteases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D012639:Seeds / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013025:Glycine max / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D010940:Plant Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant; D002734:Chlorophyll; D045726:Metalloproteases; D000077194:Chlorophyll A