Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the TCP Gene Family in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and Their Transcriptional Responses to Different Treatments

Abstract

TCP proteins are plant-specific transcription factors widely implicated in leaf morphogenesis and senescence, flowering, lateral branching, hormone crosstalk, and stress responses. However, the relationship between the transcription pattern of TCPs and organ development in cucumber has not been systematically studied. In this study, we performed a genome-wide identification of putative TCP genes and analyzed their chromosomal location, gene structure, conserved motif, and transcript expression. A total of 27 putative TCP genes were identified and characterized in cucumber. All 27 putative CsTCP genes were classified into class I and class II. Class I comprised 12 CsTCPs and Class II contained 15 CsTCPs. The 27 putative CsTCP genes were randomly distributed in five of seven chromosomes in cucumber. Four putative CsTCP genes were found to contain putative miR319 target sites. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that 27 putative CsTCP genes exhibited different expression patterns in cucumber tissues and floral organ development. Transcript expression and phenotype analysis showed that the putative CsTCP genes responded to temperature and photoperiod and were induced by gibberellin (GA)and ethylene treatment, which suggested that CsTCP genes may regulate the lateral branching by involving in multiple signal pathways. These results lay the foundation for studying the function of cucumber TCP genes in the future.

Comprehensive In Silico Characterization and Expression Profiling of TCP Gene Family in Rapeseed

“…Owing to the development, duplications, and divergence of TCP genes, the gymnosperms and angiosperms plants possess bigger TCP gene families containing more than ten TCP members ( Martín-Trillo and Cubas, 2010 ). Over the past few years, TCP gene families have been reported in various crop plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana ( Yao et al, 2007 ), Moso bamboo ( Liu et al, 2018 ), sweet potato ( Ren et al, 2021 ), cucumber ( Wen et al, 2020 ), rice ( Yao et al, 2007 ), Brassica rapa ( Du et al, 2017 ); Brassica juncea ( He et al, 2020 ); and cotton ( Ma et al, 2014 ; Yin et al, 2018 ), etc. To our best knowledge, the TCP gene family has not been fully characterized in the rapeseed genome.…”

“…Genes expanded by tandem duplication are always scattered all together as a cluster in chromosomes ( Sémon and Wolfe, 2007 ; Fang et al, 2012 ). Gene duplication events of TCP genes were also spotted in several plant species ( Ma et al, 2014 ; Lin et al, 2016 ; Yin et al, 2018 ; Wen et al, 2020 ). Apart from duplication events, exon-intron associations and numbers can also explain the evolutionary story of the gene family ( Xu et al, 2012 ; Raza et al, 2021a ; Su et al, 2021 ).…”

“…For example, in cotton, 41 GhTCP genes responded significantly to heat, salinity, and drought stresses (Yin et al, 2018). In cucumber, several TCP genes were up-regulated in response to photoperiod and temperature stresses; likewise, some genes were also induced by phytohormones like ethylene and gibberellin (Wen et al, 2020). In Moso bamboo, several TCP genes were substantially up-regulated in response to various hormones such as ABA, MeJA, and SA (Liu et al, 2018).…”

“…In cotton, several GhTCP genes were significantly up-regulated under heat, salt, and drought stresses (Yin et al, 2018). In cucumber, many CsTCP genes significantly responded to temperature and photoperiod and were also induced by gibberellic acid and ethylene treatments (Wen et al, 2020). TCP genes are also expressed in different tissues, such as many TCP genes mainly expressed in flower, leaf, and stem, flower, bud differentiation, and gametophyte development in Prunus mume (Zhou et al, 2016).…”

“…Over the past few years, TCP gene families have been reported in several plant species. For example, 16 TCP members in Moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ) ( Liu et al, 2018 ); 18 TCP members in sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas L.) ( Ren et al, 2021 ); 23 TCP members in orchids ( Phalaenopsis equestris ) ( Lin et al, 2016 ); 24 TCP members in Arabidopsis thaliana ( Yao et al, 2007 ); 27 TCP members in cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) ( Wen et al, 2020 ); 28 TCP members in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) ( Yao et al, 2007 ); 38 TCP members in cotton ( Gossypium raimondii L.) ( Ma et al, 2014 ); 39 TCP members in turnips ( Brassica rapa ssp. rapa) ( Du et al, 2017 ); 63 TCP members in Brassica juncea var.…”