Genomic Organization, Phylogenetic and Expression Analysis of the B-BOX Gene Family in Tomato.
The B-BOX (BBX) proteins encode a class of zinc-finger transcription factors possessing one or two B-BOX domains and in some cases an additional CCT (CO, CO-like and TOC1) motif, which play important roles in regulating plant growth, development and stress response. Nevertheless, no systematic study of BBX genes has undertaken in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Here we present the results of a genome-wide analysis of the 29 BBX genes in this important vegetable species. Their structures, conserved domains, phylogenetic relationships, subcellular localizations, and promotercis-regulatory elements were analyzed; their tissue expression profiles and expression patterns under various hormones and stress treatments were also investigated in detail. Tomato BBX genes can be divided into five subfamilies, and twelve of them were found to be segmentally duplicated. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that most BBX genes exhibited different temporal and spatial expression patterns. The expression of most BBX genes can be induced by drought, polyethylene glycol-6000 or heat stress. Some BBX genes were induced strongly by phytohormones such as abscisic acid, gibberellic acid, or ethephon. The majority of tomato BBX proteins was predicted to be located in nuclei, and the transient expression assay usingArabidopsismesophyll protoplasts demonstrated that all the seven BBX members tested (SlBBX5, 7, 15, 17, 20, 22, and 24) were localized in nucleus. Our analysis of tomato BBX genes on the genome scale would provide valuable information for future functional characterization of specific genes in this family.
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Zhuannan
Z
Chu
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Xin
X
Wang
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Ying
Y
Li
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Huiyang
H
Yu
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Jinhua
J
Li
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Yongen
Y
Lu
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Hanxia
H
Li
Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, China.
Bo
B
Ouyang
BBX; gene expression; phylogenetic analysis; subcellular localization; tomato