Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression of Two-Component System Genes in Cytokinin-Regulated Gall Formation in Zizania latifolia

Abstract

The thickening of Zizania latifolia shoots, referred to as gall formation, depends on infection with the fungal endophyte Ustilago esculenta. The swollen and juicy shoots are a popular vegetable in Asia. A key role for cytokinin action in this process was postulated. Here, trans-zeatin stimulated swelling in fungi-infected Z. latifolia. A two-component system (TCS) linked cytokinin binding to receptors with transcriptional regulation in the nucleus and played important roles in diverse biological processes. We characterized 69 TCS genes encoding for 25 histidine kinase/histidine-kinase-like (HK(L)) (21 HKs and 4 HKLs), 8 histidine phosphotransfer proteins (HP) (5 authentic and 3 pseudo), and 36 response regulators (RR; 14 type A, 14 type B, 2 type C, and 6 pseudo) in the genome of Z. latifolia. These TCS genes have a close phylogenetic relationship with their rice counterparts. Nineteen duplicated TCS gene pairs were found and the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous mutations indicated that a strong purifying selection acted on these duplicated genes, leading to few mutations during evolution. Finally, ZlCHK1, ZlRRA5, ZIRRA9, ZlRRA10, ZlPRR1, and ZlPHYA expression was associated with gall formation. Among them, ARR5, ARR9, and ZlPHYA are quickly induced by trans-zeatin, suggesting a role for cytokinin signaling in shoot swelling of Z. latifolia.

Integrated Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis Reveals Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis and Phytohormone Signaling Contribute to “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” Accumulation in Citrus Fruit Piths (Fluffy Albedo)

“…Cytokinins coordinate some plant developmental processes via the two-component system (TCS) [ 51 ]. Almost all of the differentially expressed TCS regulator ARRs and HPts, which act as CK signal transduction regulators [ 52 ], were depressed in the fruit piths in this study, which is consistent with the AUX/IAA-related DEGs. Bacteria can use IAA to interact with plants in their colonization strategy and to circumvent the basal plant defense mechanisms [ 53 ].…”

Two-Component System Genes in Sorghum bicolor: Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiling in Response to Environmental Stresses

“…The Chinese cabbage genome underwent whole genome duplication after from A. thaliana; and its TCS genes originated mainly from segmental duplication (Liu et al, 2014). Similarly, nineteen duplicated genes were observed in Z. latifolia (He et al, 2020). In cucumber, one event of tandem duplication has been found.…”

“…The HP family contains a domain called the phosphotransfer (Hpt) domain which is essential for transferring a phosphate group from the Rec domain of HKs to the Rec domain of RRs, enabled due to the presence of a highly conserved motif (XHQXKGSSXS) ( Gupta et al, 2020 ; He et al, 2020 ; Tiwari et al, 2021 ). The AHP1 – AHP5 are the five A. thaliana genes that encode the intermediate proteins with an Hpt domain.…”

Omics-assisted characterization of two-component system genes from Gossypium Raimondii in response to salinity and molecular interaction with abscisic acid

“…Citrullus lanatus, on the other hand, had one tandem and two segmental occurrences. There are 19 duplicated genes in Z. latifolia (He et al, 2020).…”