Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analyses of Aquaporin Gene Family during Development and Abiotic Stress in Banana

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Wei Hu²  Xiaowan Hou²  Chao Huang¹  Yan Yan²  Weiwei Tie²  Zehong Ding²  Yunxie Wei²  Juhua Liu²  Hongxia Miao²  Zhiwei Lu²  Meiying Li²  Biyu Xu²  Zhiqiang Jin³ 

[1] College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China; E-Mail:;Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Tropical Crops, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, Hainan, China; E-Mails:;Key Laboratory of Genetic Improvement of Bananas, Hainan Province, Haikou Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 570102, Hainan, China

关键词: Aquaporin (AQP);    abiotic stress;    banana;    development;    expression analysis;    fruit postharvest ripening;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms160819728

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Aquaporins (AQPs) function to selectively control the flow of water and other small molecules through biological membranes, playing crucial roles in various biological processes. However, little information is available on the AQP gene family in bananas. In this study, we identified 47 banana AQP genes based on the banana genome sequence. Evolutionary analysis of AQPs from banana, Arabidopsis, poplar, and rice indicated that banana AQPs (MaAQPs) were clustered into four subfamilies. Conserved motif analysis showed that all banana AQPs contained the typical AQP-like or major intrinsic protein (MIP) domain. Gene structure analysis suggested the majority of MaAQPs had two to four introns with a highly specific number and length for each subfamily. Expression analysis of MaAQP genes during fruit development and postharvest ripening showed that some MaAQP genes exhibited high expression levels during these stages, indicating the involvement of MaAQP genes in banana fruit development and ripening. Additionally, some MaAQP genes showed strong induction after stress treatment and therefore, may represent potential candidates for improving banana resistance to abiotic stress. Taken together, this study identified some excellent tissue-specific, fruit development- and ripening-dependent, and abiotic stress-responsive candidate MaAQP genes, which could lay a solid foundation for genetic improvement of banana cultivars.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.