title: Characterization of DWARF14 Genes in Populus.
abstract: Strigolactones are a new class of plant hormones regulating shoot branching and symbiotic interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Studies of branching mutants in herbaceous plants have identified several key genes involved in strigolactone biosynthesis or signaling. The strigolactone signal is perceived by a member of the α/β-fold hydrolase superfamily, known as DWARF14 (D14). However, little is known about D14 genes in the woody perennial plants. Here we report the identification of D14 homologs in the model woody plant Populus trichocarpa. We showed that there are two D14 homologs in P. trichocarpa, designated as PtD14a and PtD14b that are over 95% similar at the amino acid level. Expression analysis indicated that the transcript level of PtD14a is generally more abundant than that of PtD14b. However, only PtD14a was able to complement Arabidopsis d14 mutants, suggesting that PtD14a is the functional D14 ortholog. Amino acid alignment and structural modeling revealed substitutions of several highly conserved amino acids in the PtD14b protein including a phenylalanine near the catalytic triad of D14 proteins. This study lays a foundation for further characterization of strigolactone pathway and its functions in the woody perennial plants.
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.|Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China.
authors.forename: Kaijie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.|Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.|Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weighill
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Hao-Bo
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Yongil
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.|National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China.
authors.forename: Shucai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.|Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.|Genome Science and Technology Program, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Wellington
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Muchero
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Gerald A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Tuskan
authors.affiliation: Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Jin-Gui
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006867:Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics*; D007783:Lactones; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D032107:Populus / Q000235:genetics*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C000611064:DWARF14 protein, Arabidopsis; D007783:Lactones; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D006867:Hydrolases