The evolutionary history of the sucrose synthase gene family in higher plants

BMC Plant Biology

Chunxiao Liu¹  Yuming Sun²  Suzhen Huang²  Ting Zhang²  Haiyan Yuan²  Yongheng Yang²  Menglan Hou²  Xiaoyang Xu² 

[1] Institute of Pomology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Horticultural Crop Genetic Improvement;Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Research and Utilization of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences;

关键词: Sucrose synthase;    Gene family;    Evolution;    Phylogeny;    Expression pattern;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-019-2181-4

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Sucrose synthase (SUS) is widely considered a key enzyme participating in sucrose metabolism in higher plants and regarded as a biochemical marker for sink strength in crops. However, despite significant progress in characterizing the physiological functions of the SUS gene family, knowledge of the trajectory of evolutionary processes and significance of the family in higher plants remains incomplete. Results In this study, we identified over 100 SUS genes in 19 plant species and reconstructed their phylogenies, presenting a potential framework of SUS gene family evolution in higher plants. Three anciently diverged SUS gene subfamilies (SUS I, II and III) were distinguished based on their phylogenetic relationships and unique intron/exon structures in angiosperms, and they were found to have evolved independently in monocots and dicots. Each subfamily of SUS genes exhibited distinct expression patterns in a wide range of plants, implying that their functional differentiation occurred before the divergence of monocots and dicots. Furthermore, SUS III genes evolved under relaxed purifying selection in dicots and displayed narrowed expression profiles. In addition, for all three subfamilies of SUS genes, the GT-B domain was more conserved than the “regulatory” domain. Conclusions The present study reveals the evolution of the SUS gene family in higher plants and provides new insights into the evolutionary conservation and functional divergence of angiosperm SUS genes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown