Evolutionary Relationship and Structural Characterization of the EPF/EPFL Gene Family

Abstract

EPF1-EPF2 and EPFL9/Stomagen act antagonistically in regulating leaf stomatal density. The aim of this study was to elucidate the evolutionary functional divergence of EPF/EPFL family genes. Phylogenetic analyses showed that AtEPFL9/Stomagen-like genes are conserved only in vascular plants and are closely related to AtEPF1/EPF2-like genes. Modeling showed that EPF/EPFL peptides share a common 3D structure that is constituted of a scaffold and loop. Molecular dynamics simulation suggested that AtEPF1/EPF2-like peptides form an additional disulfide bond in their loop regions and show greater flexibility in these regions than AtEPFL9/Stomagen-like peptides. This study uncovered the evolutionary relationship and the conformational divergence of proteins encoded by the EPF/EPFL family genes.

GAD1 Encodes a Secreted Peptide That Regulates Grain Number, Grain Length, and Awn Development in Rice Domestication

“…Similar to the Arabidopsis EPF/EPFL peptides, the GAD1 prepropeptide contained an N-terminal secretory signal peptide and a mature peptide with a conserved region of six cysteine residues (Supplemental Figures 10 and 11 and Supplemental Table 1). The six conserved cysteine residues are essential for proper formation of intramolecular disulfide bonds that are critical for peptide function (Abrash and Bergmann, 2010;Jewaria et al, 2013;Katsir et al, 2011;Lee et al, 2012;Ohki et al, 2011;Takata et al, 2013). (A) The target gene was mapped between the markers M10 and RM5485 on the long arm of chromosome 8.…”

The Plant Peptidome: An Expanding Repertoire of Structural Features and Biological Functions

“…In Arabidopsis, the EPF family consists of two EPF peptides (EPF1 and EPF2) and nine EPF-like peptides (EPFL1 to EPFL9). EPF/EPFL genes are present in mosses, monocots, and dicots (Takata et al, 2013). Overexpression of EPF1, EPF2, EPFL4, and EPFL5 inhibits stomatal development when ectopically overexpressed (Hara et al, 2009).…”

“…NMRderived structural information showed that STOMAGEN represents two antiparallel b-strands connected by a loop (Ohki et al, 2011) (Figure 3). Additional 3D structure modeling revealed that EPF1/EPF2-LIKE (EPFL) peptides form a disulfide bond in the loop region absent in EPFL9/STOMAGEN-LIKE peptides (Takata et al, 2013). Recent studies demonstrated direct binding of EPF peptides to ERECTA family receptor kinases .…”

Substantial expression of novel small open reading frames inOryza sativa

“…AtsORF0359 had eight cysteines in the coding sequence; this even number of cysteine residues is often found in functional cysteinerich peptides such as LURE and EPF/ EPFL. 2,24 However, an odd number of cysteine residues was conserved between OsORF0359L and AtsORF0359. The start codon of OsORF0359L should be identified to predict this functional sORF accurately.…”

“…[14][15][16] As well as sequences encoding CLE peptides, those encoding other peptide hormones (ROT4, RTFL/DVL, EPF/ EPFL) are also conserved in higher plant species. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The conservation of coding sequences among multiple plant species provides good evidence for the functionality of these peptides.…”