title: Genome-wide identification and comparative expression analysis ofLEAgenes in watermelon and melon genomes.
abstract: Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are large and diverse group of polypeptides which were first identified during seed dehydration and then in vegetative plant tissues during different stress responses. Now, gene family members of LEA proteins have been detected in various organisms. However, there is no report for this protein family in watermelon and melon until this study. A total of 73LEAgenes from watermelon (ClLEA) and 61LEAgenes from melon (CmLEA) were identified in this comprehensive study. They were classified into four and three distinct clusters in watermelon and melon, respectively. There was a correlation between gene structure and motif composition among each LEA groups. Segmental duplication played an important role forLEAgene expansion in watermelon. Maximum gene ontology ofLEAgenes was observed with poplarLEAgenes. For evaluation of tissue specific expression patterns ofClLEAandCmLEAgenes, publicly available RNA-seq data were analyzed. The expression analysis of selectedLEAgenes in root and leaf tissues of drought-stressed watermelon and melon were examined using qRT-PCR. Among them,ClLEA-12-17-46genes were quickly induced after drought application. Therefore, they might be considered as early response genes for water limitation conditions in watermelon. In addition,CmLEA-42-43genes were found to be up-regulated in both tissues of melon under drought stress. Our results can open up new frontiers about understanding of functions of these important family members under normal developmental stages and stress conditions by bioinformatics and transcriptomic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kastamonu University, 37150 Kastamonu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasemin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Celik Altunoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kastamonu University, 37150 Kastamonu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Cengiz
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Baloglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kastamonu University, 37150 Kastamonu, Turkey.|Research and Application Center, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baloglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esra Nurten
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Yer
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kastamonu University, 37150 Kastamonu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kara
keywords: Citrullus lanatus; Cucumis melo; Drought stress; Genome-wide analysis; LEA gene family