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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2024, Vol. 23 Issue (11): 3723-3736    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.09.001
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Genome-wide identification, molecular evolution, and functional characterization of fructokinase gene family in apple reveal its role in improving salinity tolerance

Jing Su1*, Lingcheng Zhu2*, Pingxing Ao1, Jianhui Shao3, Chunhua Ma1#

1 College of Landscape and Horticulture, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China.

2 State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, College of Horticulture, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

3 College of Plant protection, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China

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摘要  

果糖激酶(FRK)是植物体内果糖信号转导的调节因子,其通过磷酸化催化果糖代谢。课题组前期研究表明MdFRK2蛋白不仅对果糖具有高亲和力,而且对山梨醇具有较高催化活性。然而,苹果FRK基因家族的全基因组鉴定及其演化进程尚未报道。本研究通过系统的全基因组分析,共鉴定了9个苹果FRK基因成员,在系统发育上将其分为七个聚类。MdFRK基因的染色体定位和共线性分析揭示,它们在苹果基因组中的扩张主要受串联和染色体片段复制事件的驱动。在4个源库组织和5个不同苹果果实发育阶段观察到MdFRKs的差异表达,这表明它们在苹果果实发育和糖积累中可能起着至关重要的作用。RT-qPCR鉴定了对盐和干旱胁迫敏感的MdFRK候选基因,其中过表达MdFRK2转基因苹果植株显著增强了耐盐性。总之,本研究结果对于了解MdFRKs在调控苹果果实发育和耐盐应答中的功能具有重要的意义。



Abstract  
Fructokinase (FRK) is a regulator of fructose signaling in plants and gateway proteins that catalyze the initial step in fructose metabolism through phosphorylation.  Our previous study demonstrated that MdFRK2 protein exhibit not only high affinity for fructose, but also high enzymatic activity due to sorbitol.  However, genome-wide identification of the MdFRK gene family and their evolutionary dynamics in apple are yet to be reported.  A systematic genome-wide analysis in this study identified a total of nine MdFRK gene members, which could phylogenetically be clustered into seven groups.  Chromosomal location and synteny analysis of MdFRKs revealed that their expansion in the apple genome is primarily driven by tandem and segmental duplication events.  Divergent expression patterns of MdFRKs were observed in four source-sink tissues and at five different apple fruit developmental stages, which suggested their potential crucial roles in the apple fruit development and sugar accumulation.  Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) identified candidate NaCl or drought stress responsive MdFRKs, and transgenic apple plants overexpressing MdFRK2 exhibited considerably enhanced salinity tolerance.  Our results will be useful for understanding the functions of MdFRKs in the regulation of apple fruit development and salt stress response.


Keywords:  apple        fructokinase        evolutionary patterns        MdFRK2        salinity tolerance  
Received: 11 August 2023   Accepted: 05 July 2024
Fund: 

This work was supported by the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department Agriculture Joint Project, China (202301BD070001-020).



About author:  Jing Su, E-mail: 18119446137@163.com; Lingcheng Zhu, E-mail: zhulingcheng316@nwsuaf.edu.cn; #Correspondence Chunhua Ma, E-mail: 563139036@qq.com, 2007033@ynau.edu.cn *These authors contributed equally to this study. *These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

Jing Su, Lingcheng Zhu, Pingxing Ao, Jianhui Shao, Chunhua Ma. 2024. Genome-wide identification, molecular evolution, and functional characterization of fructokinase gene family in apple reveal its role in improving salinity tolerance. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 23(11): 3723-3736.

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