Identification of aluminum-activated malate transporters (ALMT) family genes in hydrangea and functional characterization of HmALMT5/9/11 under aluminum stress

Abstract

Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser.) is a famous ornamental plant species with high resistance to aluminum (Al). The aluminum-activated malate transporter (ALMT) family encodes anion channels, which participate in many physiological processes, such as Al tolerance, pH regulation, stomatal movement, and mineral nutrition. However, systematic studies on the gene family have not been reported in hydrangea. In this study, 11 candidate ALMT family members were identified from the transcriptome data for hydrangea, which could be divided into three clusters according to the phylogenetic tree. The protein physicochemical properties, phylogeny, conserved motifs and protein structure were analyzed. The distribution of base conservative motifs of HmALMTs was consistent with that of other species, with a highly conserved WEP motif. Furthermore, tissue-specific analysis showed that most of the HmALMTs were highly expressed in the stem under Al treatment. In addition, overexpression of HmALMT5, HmALMT9 and HmALMT11 in yeasts enhanced their tolerance to Al stress. Therefore, the above results reveal the functional role of HmALMTs underlying the Al tolerance of hydrangea. The present study provides a reference for further research to elucidate the functional mechanism and expression regulation of the ALMT gene family in hydrangea.

Genome-wide identification of Aux/IAA gene family in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and functional verification of TrIAA18 under different abiotic stress

“…Yeast cells were transformed in the presence of uracil-free glucose (SD-Ura) agar medium for growth. SG-Ura agar medium without and containing 2 mM AlCl 3 (pH = 4.5), 2 M D-Mannitol, and 1.5 M NaCl was prepared as described in the literature [ 71 ]. Positive transformants were identified and incubated with SG-Ura liquid medium containing galactose until OD 600 = 1, then serially diluted (OD 600 = 1, 10 –1 , 10 –2 , 10 –3 , 10 –4 ).…”

Identification of the ALMT gene family in the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and analysis of the function of StALMT6/10 in response to aluminum toxicity

“…), 11 ALMT gene family members were recognized based on transcriptome data. Furthermore, the expression of three genes ( HmALMT5 , HmALMT9 , and HmALMT11 ) in yeast increased tolerance to Al toxicity ( Qin Z. et al., 2022 ).…”