title: The calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) and CDPK-related kinase gene families inHevea brasiliensis-comparison with five other plant species in structure, evolution, and expression.
abstract: Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs or CPKs) play important roles in various physiological processes of plants, including growth and development, stress responses and hormone signaling. Although the CDPK gene family has been characterized in several model plants, little is known about this gene family inHevea brasiliensis(the Para rubber tree). Here, we characterize the entireH. brasiliensisCDPK and CDPK-related kinase (CRK) gene families comprising 30CDPKgenes (HbCPK1to30) and nineCRKgenes (HbCRK1to9). Structure and phylogeny analyses of theseCDPKandCRKgenes demonstrate evolutionary conservation in these gene families acrossH. brasiliensisand other plant species. The expression ofHbCPKandHbCRKgenes was investigated via Solexa sequencing in a range of experimental conditions (different tissues, phases of leaf development, ethylene treatment, and various abiotic stresses). The results suggest thatHbCPKandHbCRKgenes are important components in growth, development, and stress responses ofH. brasiliensis. Parallel studies on theCDPKandCRKgene families were also extended to five other plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana,Oryza sativa,Populus trichocarpa,Manihot esculenta,andRicinus communis). TheCDPKandCRKgenes from different plant species that exhibit similar expression patterns tend to cluster together, suggesting a coevolution of gene structure and expression behavior in higher plants. The results serve as a foundation to further functional studies of these gene families inH. brasiliensisas well as in the whole plant kingdom.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Rubber Biology, Ministry of Agriculture & Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Danzhou Hainan China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hu
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Genomics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Rubber Biology, Ministry of Agriculture & Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Danzhou Hainan China; College of Agriculture Hainan University Haikou Hainan China.
authors.forename: Jin-Lei
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Rubber Biology, Ministry of Agriculture & Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Danzhou Hainan China.
authors.forename: Ji-Yan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Rubber Biology, Ministry of Agriculture & Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Danzhou Hainan China.
authors.forename: Yong-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Genomics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.
authors.forename: Song-Nian
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Rubber Biology, Ministry of Agriculture & Rubber Research Institute Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Danzhou Hainan China.
authors.forename: Chao-Rong
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Tang
keywords: CDPK‐related kinase; Hevea brasiliensis; calcium‐dependent protein kinase; gene expression; structure and evolution