title: Identification and expression profiling of the auxin response factors (ARFs) in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) under various abiotic stresses.
abstract: Auxin response factor (ARF) proteins are a multigene family of regulators involved in various physiological and developmental processes in plants. However, their modes of action in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified 15 members of the tea ARF gene family, using the public information about C. sinensis, both in our laboratory, as well as in other laboratories, and analyzed their phylogenetic relationships, conserved domains and the compositions of the amino acids in the middle region. A comprehensive expression analysis in different tissues and organs revealed that many ARF genes were expressed in a tissue-specific manner, suggesting they have different functions in the growth and development processes of the tea plant. The expression analysis under three forms of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, naphthylacetic acid) treatment showed that the majority of the ARF genes were down-regulated in the shoots and up-regulated in the roots, suggesting opposite action mechanisms of the ARF genes in the shoots and roots. The expression levels of most ARF genes were changed under various phytohormone and abiotic stresses, indicating the ARF gene family plays important roles in various phytohormone and abiotic stress signals and may mediate the crosstalk between phytohormones and abiotic stresses. The current study provides basic information for the ARF genes of the tea plant and will pave the way for deciphering the precise role of ARFs in tea developmental processes and breeding stress-tolerant tea varieties.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Xia
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Ting-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Sheng-Chuan
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Wan-Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Fang
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Center for Tea Improvement, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science/ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, 9 South Meiling Road, Hangzhou 310008, China. Electronic address: liangchen@tricaas.com.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D015084:2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D015084:2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid; C030737:indoleacetic acid
keywords: ARF genes family; Camellia sinensis; Expression; Phytohormone; Stress; Transcriptional regulator