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The MADS-box gene family encodes a type of transcription factor, and plays a key role in the growth and development of plants. Here, we identified 62 MADS-box genes in the melon (Cucumis melo) genome using bioinformatics methods. These genes were divided into type I Mα, Mγ, and Mδ subfamilies (26 members) and type II MIKCC subfamilies (36 members) by phylogenetic analysis. There were no genes in type II AGL12, BS, TM8, and MIKC* subfamilies, and type I Mβ subfamilies. Conserved motif analysis showed that all motifs had a subfamily-specific distribution except the M domain. The expression analysis of the MADS-box genes showed different expression characteristics. In summary, this study is the first to identify melon MADS-box genes and analyze their gene structures, subfamily distribution, and expression characteristics. These results provide a foundation for investigating the functions of the melon MADS-box genes.
Polyamines [putrescine (put), spermidine (spd), and spermine (spm)] are aliphatic amines that are implicated in the regulation of many basic physiological processes such as cell growth, proliferation and stress responses in organisms including plants (Walden et al. 1997). Put is metabolized to spd and spm through the successive enzymatic reactions of spd synthase (SPDS) and spm synthase (SPMS) with the use of decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine (dcSAM) as an aminopropyl donor, which is generated by SAM decarboxylase (SAMDC). So far, two MdSAMDC (MdSAMDC1 and MdSAMDC2) homologous to SAMDC and two MdACL5 (MdACL5-1 and MdACL5-2) homologous to ACL5 encoding SPMS in Arabidopsis (Hanzawa et al. 2000) were isolated from `Orin' apple. To investigate the function of these genes, complementation analyses were carried out using yeast mutants. Each of the MdSAMDCs consists of three ORFs; tiny- and small-ORFs in the 5' regions, and main ORF like other plant SAMDC genes. Both constructs for MdSAMDC containing all ORFs (SAM-DCall) or containing only main ORF (SAMDCorf) were capable of recovering the growth of yeast SAMDC-deficient mutants (delta spe2) without supplement of spd, although the SAMDCall constructs always showed the lower growth speed than the SAMDCorf constructs. On the other hand, yeast SPMS-deficient mutant (delta spe4) introduced by MdACL5 cDNA produced significantly higher amount of spm than the delta spe4 with control vector by HPLC. Collectively, these results suggest that both MdSAMDCs are functional as a SAMDC and the tiny- and small-ORFs are negative-regulatory factor for the translation efficiency of SAMDC, and also that MdACL5 encodes a functional SPMS like as ACL5 in Arabidopsis. The first and second authors contributed equally to this work.
The pollen morphology of 26 cultivars of herbaceous peony (Paeonia L.) was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Pollen grains of the cultivars were mostly subprolate to perprolate, tricolporate, or ellipsoidal in equatorial view, but rounded-trifid in polar view. The poles of pollen grains were mainly flat when viewed in cross-section and only a few appeared to have a circular or arc shape. In addition, the surface of the pollen grains was psilate, and the muri were partly or fully protuberant with a reticulate surface sculpture. However, the shapes and sizes of pollen grains as well as surface ornamentation varied significantly among cultivars with different chromosome numbers. The pollen grains from diploid cultivars were regular and full, and the reticulation holes were evenly distributed, while most of the pollen grains from triploid cultivars were empty flat shells with some heteromorphic pollen whose surface ornamentation was mostly rugulate-reticulate exine. The pollen grains from tetraploid cultivars were the largest although pollen morphology and surface ornamentation differed between Athena and Cream Delight. Six indices [polar axis length (P), equator axis length (E), P/E, pollen perforation diameter (D), ridge width (W), and D/W] were used in Q cluster analysis, which divided the 26 cultivars into three groups. Group I included eight diploid, four triploid, and one tetraploid cultivar. Group II included 12 triploid cultivars with complex genetic backgrounds. Group III included only one tetraploid cultivar Cream Delight. This work may provide an important palynological basis for studying taxonomy and hybrid breeding of herbaceous peony cultivars.
The omission of second division gene (OSD1) gene plays a fundamental role in meiosis and is associated with 2n gamete formation in Arabidopsis thaliana. The objective of this work was to unravel the mechanisms leading to 2n pollen production, and isolate and analyze the expression patterns of OSD-like (OSDL) genes in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus). We found an absence of the second meiotic division caused the formation of 2n pollen. Three homoeologous genes were cloned and labeled as OSDLa, OSDLb, and OSDLc in a diploid carnation. The cDNAs were 1180 bp for OSDLa, 1288 bp for OSDLb, and 971 bp for OSDLc. A strong similarity was found between the amino sequences of OSDLb and OSDLc. An evident feature of OSDLs proteins is the presence of D-box and MR-tail domains; however, the GxEN/KEN-box domain, which is distinct among the other plant proteins was absent. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that OSDL genes maintain continuous expression in buds and other tissues. OSDLa has the highest expression in buds of 1.1–1.2 cm long (stage 2), and OSDLb has a high level of expression in buds of 0.9–1.0 cm long (stage 1) and stage 2 buds and ovary tissues in three carnation cultivars. The expression level of OSDLc was highest in ovaries. These expression patterns strongly suggest that OSDLs in carnation involve male meiosis and ovary development. These findings can have potential applications in fundamental polyploidization research and plant breeding programs in carnation.
We studied the effects of exogenous spermidine (Spd) on plant growth and nitrogen metabolism in two cultivars of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) that have differential sensitivity to mixed salinity-alkalinity stress: ‘Jinpeng Chaoguan’ (salt-tolerant) and ‘Zhongza No. 9’ (salt-sensitive). Seedling growth of both tomato cultivars was inhibited by salinity-alkalinity stress, but Spd treatment alleviated the growth reduction to some extent, especially in ‘Zhongza No. 9’. Exogenous Spd may help reduce stress-induced increases in free amino acids, ammonium (NH4 +) contents, and NADH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NADH-GDH) activities; depress stress-induced decreases in soluble protein and nitrate content; and depress nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase (GS), NADH-dependent glutamate synthase (NADH-GOGAT), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) activities, especially for ‘Zhongza No. 9’. Based on our results, we suggest that exogenous Spd promotes the assimilation of excess toxic NH4 + by coordinating and strengthening the synergistic action of NADH-GDH, GS/NADH-GOGAT, and transamination pathways, all during saline-alkaline stress. Subsequently, NH4 + and its related enzymes (GDH, GS, GOGAT, GOT, and GPT), in vivo, are maintained in a proper and balanced state to enable mitigation of stress-resulted damages. These results suggest that exogenous Spd treatment can relieve nitrogen metabolic disturbances caused by salinity-alkalinity stress and eventually promote plant growth.
Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Sieb., commonly known as “burning bush,” is an extremely popular landscape plant in the United States as a result of its brilliant showy red leaves in fall. However, E. alatus is also seriously invasive because of its prolific seed production and effective seed dispersal by birds. Thus, development of sterile, non-invasive, seedless triploid E. alatus is in high demand. In this article, we report successful production of triploid E. alatus using endosperm tissues as explants. In our study, ≈50% of immature endosperm explants and 14% of mature endosperm explants formed compact, green calli after culture in the dark for 8 weeks and then under light for 4 weeks on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.2 μM BA and 2.7 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Approximately 5.6% of the immature endosperm-derived calli and 13.4% of mature endosperm-derived calli initiated shoots within 8 weeks after they were cultured on MS medium with 4.4 μM benzyladenine (BA) and 0.5 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Eighty-five percent of shoots rooted after culture on woody plant medium (WPM) containing 4.9 μM IBA for 2 weeks and then on hormone-free WPM medium containing 2.0 g·L−1 activated charcoal for 4 weeks. Eight independently regenerated triploid plants have been identified. Triploid plant regeneration rates observed were 0.42% from immature endosperm explants and 0.34% from mature endosperm explants, respectively, based on the number of endosperm explants cultured. Because triploid plants cannot produce viable seeds, and thus are sterile and non-invasive, some triploid E. alatus plant lines reported here can be used to replace the currently used invasive counterparts. Chemical names used: benzyladenine (BA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA).