title: Transcriptome-Wide Identification, Classification, and Characterization ofAP2/ERFFamily Genes in the Desert MossSyntrichia caninervis.
abstract: APETALA2/Ethylene Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) is a large family of plant transcription factors which play important roles in the control of plant metabolism and development as well as responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses. The desert mossSyntrichia caninervis, due to its robust and comprehensive stress tolerance, is a promising organism for the identification of stress-related genes. UsingS. caninervistranscriptome data, 80 AP2/ERF unigenes were identified by HMM modeling and BLASTP searching. Based on the number of AP2 domains, multiple sequence alignment, motif analysis, and gene tree construction,ScAP2/ERFgenes were classified into three main subfamilies (including 5AP2gene members, 72ERFgene members, and 1RAVmember) and two Soloist members. We found that the ratio for each subfamily was constant betweenS. caninervisand the model mossPhyscomitrella patens, however, as compared to the angiosperm Arabidopsis, the percentage of ERF subfamily members in both moss species were greatly expanded, while the members of the AP2 and RAV subfamilies were reduced accordingly. The amino acid composition of the AP2 domain of ScAP2/ERFs was conserved as compared with Arabidopsis. Interestingly, most of the identifiedDREBgenes inS. caninervisbelonged to the A-5 group which play important roles in stress responses and are rarely reported in the literature. Expression profile analysis ofScDREBgenes showed different gene expression patterns under dehydration and rehydration; the majority ofScDREBgenes demonstrated a stronger response to dehydration relative to rehydration indicating thatScDREBmay play an important role in dehydrated moss tissues. To our knowledge, this is the first study to detail the identification and characterization of the AP2/ERF gene family in a desert moss. Further, this study will lay the foundation for further functional analysis of these genes, provide greater insight to the stress tolerance mechanisms inS. caninervisand provide a reference for AP2/ERF gene family classification in other moss species.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoshuang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Daoyuan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of SciencesUrumqi, China; University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Yuqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Honglan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Yucheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale IL, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Wood
keywords: AP2/ERF genes; Syntrichia caninervis; classification; desiccation tolerance; transcriptome