Genome-wide analysis of nuclear factor Y genes and functional investigation of watermelon ClNF-YB9 during seed development  

作　　者：Qin Feng Ling Xiao Jiafa Wang Jie Wang Chenyang Chen Jianyang Sun Xixi Wu Man Liu Xian Zhang Shujuan Tian Li Yuan 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas,College of Horticulture,Northwest A&F University,Yangling 712100,Shaanxi,China [2]Shenzhen Research Institute,Northwest A&F University,Shenzhen 518000,Guangdong,China

出　　处：《The Crop Journal》2023年第5期1469-1479,共11页作物学报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Youth Talent Program (A279021801);Key-Area R&D Program of Guangdong province (2022B0202060001);Key R&D Program of Shaanxi Province (2023-YBNY-008);the Science and Technology Innovation Team of Shaanxi (2021TD-32);the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (2021JM-089, 2022JM-112 and 2022JQ-162);the Key R&D Project from Yangling Seed Industry Innovation Center (K3031322016);the Fundamental Research Fund from Northwest A&F University (2452022111)。

摘　　要：The nuclear factor Y(NF-Y) gene family is a class of transcription factors that are widely distributed in eukaryotes and are involved in various biological processes. However, the NF-Y gene family members in watermelon, a valued and nutritious fruit, remain largely unknown and their functions have not been characterized. In the present study, 22 ClNF-Y genes in watermelon, 29 CsNF-Y genes in cucumber, and 24CmNF-Y genes in melon were identified based on the whole-genome investigation and their protein properties, gene location, gene structure, motif composition, conserved domain, and evolutionary relationship were investigated. ClNF-YB9 from watermelon and its homologs in cucumber and melon were expressed specifically in seeds. Its expression remained low in the early stages of watermelon seed development,increased at 20 days after pollination(DAP), and peaked at 45–50 DAP. Moreover, the knockout mutant Clnf-yb9 exhibited abnormal leafy cotyledon phenotype, implying its critical role during seed formation.Finally, protein interaction assays showed that ClNF-YB9 interacts with all ClNF-YCs and the ClNF-YB9-YC4 heterodimer was able to recruit a ClNF-YA7 subunit to assemble a complete NF-Y complex, which may function in seed development. This study revealed the structure and evolutionary relationships of the NF-Y gene family in Cucurbitaceae and the novel function of ClNF-YB9 in regulating seed development in watermelon.

关 键 词：WATERMELON NF-Y gene family Evolution relationship ClNF-YB9 gene function Seed development 

分 类 号：S651[农业科学—果树学]