title: A comprehensive survey of the grapevine VQ gene family and its transcriptional correlation with WRKY proteins.
abstract: WRKY proteins are a class of transcription factors (TFs) involved in the regulation of various physiological processes, including the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Recent studies in Arabidopsis have revealed that some WRKY TFs interact with a class of proteins designed as VQ proteins because of their typical conserved motif (FxxxVQxLTG). So far, no information is available about the genomic organization and the function of VQ motif-containing protein in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L). In the current study, we analyzed the 12X V1 prediction of the nearly homozygous PN40024 genotype identifying up to 18 predicted VQ genes (VvVQ). VvVQs phylogenetic and bioinformatic analyses indicated that the intron-exon structures and motif distribution are highly divergent between different members of the grapevine VQ family. Moreover, the analysis of the V. vinifera cv. Corvina expression atlas revealed a tissue- and stage-specific expression of several members of the family which also showed a significant correlation with WRKY TFs. Grapevine VQ genes also exhibited altered expression in response to drought, powdery mildew infection, salicylic acid (SA) and ethylene (ETH) treatments. The present study represents the first characterization of VQ genes in a grapevine genotype and it is a pivotal foundation for further studies aimed at functionally characterizing this mostly unknown grapevine multigenic family.
authors.affiliation: Fruit Crop Systems Biology Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China ; Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova Legnaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vannozzi
authors.affiliation: Fruit Crop Systems Biology Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Fruit Crop Systems Biology Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova Legnaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corso
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cavallini
authors.affiliation: Fruit Crop Systems Biology Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Zong-Ming Max
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Cheng
keywords: VQ gene family; WRKY protein; biotic stress; co-expression network; drought treatment; gene expression; grapevine