Transcriptome analyses of the Dof-like gene family in grapevine reveal its involvement in berry, flower and seed development.
The Dof (DNA-binding with one finger) protein family spans a group of plant transcription factors involved in the regulation of several functions, such as plant responses to stress, hormones and light, phytochrome signaling and seed germination. Here we describe the Dof-like gene family in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), which consists of 25 genes coding for Dof. An extensive in silico characterization of the VviDofL gene family was performed. Additionally, the expression of the entire gene family was assessed in 54 grapevine tissues and organs using an integrated approach with microarray (cv Corvina) and real-time PCR (cv Pinot Noir) analyses. The phylogenetic analysis comparing grapevine sequences with those of Arabidopsis, tomato, poplar and already described Dof genes in other species allowed us to identify several duplicated genes. The diversification of grapevine DofL genes during evolution likely resulted in a broader range of biological roles. Furthermore, distinct expression patterns were identified between samples analyzed, corroborating such hypothesis. Our expression results indicate that several VviDofL genes perform their functional roles mainly during flower, berry and seed development, highlighting their importance for grapevine growth and production. The identification of similar expression profiles between both approaches strongly suggests that these genes have important regulatory roles that are evolutionally conserved between grapevine cvs Corvina and Pinot Noir.
Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre, RS 91501-970, Brazil.
Danielle Costenaro
DC
da Silva
Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre, RS 91501-970, Brazil.
Vítor
V
da Silveira Falavigna
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Verona , Verona 37134, Italy.
Marianna
M
Fasoli
Embrapa Uva e Vinho , Bento Gonçalves, RS 95701-008, Brazil.
Vanessa
V
Buffon
Embrapa Semiárido , Petrolina, PE 56302-970, Brazil.
Diogo Denardi
DD
Porto
Department of Cell Biology, Universidade de Brasília , Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil.
Georgios Joannis
GJ
Pappas
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Università degli Studi di Verona , Verona 37134, Italy.
Mario
M
Pezzotti
Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre, RS 91501-970, Brazil.
Giancarlo
G
Pasquali
Embrapa Uva e Vinho , Bento Gonçalves, RS 95701-008, Brazil.
Luís Fernando
LF
Revers