biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 2016, 60:410-418 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-016-0620-8

Cloning, identification, and expression analysis of a Dicer-Like gene family from Solanum lycopersicum

T. Wang¹, L. You^1,2, R. Li¹, D.-Q. Fu¹, B.-Z. Zhu¹, Y.-B. Luo¹, H.-L. Zhu^1,*

¹ Department of Food Biotechnology, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China

² Department of Animal & Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

Dicer proteins belong to the RNase III family of proteins, which are key components in small RNA biogenesis. In Solanum lycopersicum, seven Dicer-like (DCL) genes have been identified and have been named SlDCL. In this study, we cloned the full-length sequence of the SlDCL genes including untranslated regions using RNA ligase-mediated rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Our analysis indicates that 7 SlDCLs were located on 5 tomato chromosomes (6, 7, 8, 10, and 11). The gene structure of the SlDCLs covered long genomic regions and contained more than 20 exons. Phylogenetic analysis divided the seven SlDCL members into four subgroups. In general, all seven SlDCLs were expressed in all organs but more in flowers and fruits than in the other parts. Moreover, the expressions of some genes changed slightly after treatment with ethylene or 1-methylcyclopropene suggesting their likely roles in plant responses to ethylene. Our findings provide essential information on SlDCL genes in tomato and will aid in the functional classification of DCL families in plants.

Keywords: heterologous expression; phylogenetic analysis; RML-RACE; tomato

Subjects: gene expression; phylogenetic analysis; RML-RACE; chromosomal location; tomato

Species: Solanum lycopersicum

Received: July 5, 2015; Revised: October 27, 2015; Accepted: January 7, 2016; Published: September 1, 2016Show citation