Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of Apple NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1/PEPTIDE TRANSPORTER Family (NPF) Genes Reveals MdNPF6.5 Confers High Capacity for Nitrogen Uptake under Low-Nitrogen Conditions

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 19; no. 9; p. 2761
• Main Authors: Wang, Qian, Liu, Changhai, Dong, Qinglong, Huang, Dong, Li, Cuiying, Li, Pengmin, Ma, Fengwang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 14.09.2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Abscisic acid; Acetic acid; Amino Acid Sequence; Anion Transport Proteins - chemistry; Anion Transport Proteins - genetics; Anion Transport Proteins - metabolism; apple; Chromosome Mapping; Computational Biology - methods; Conserved Sequence; Domains; Exons; expression analysis; Fruits; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; genome-wide; Genome-Wide Association Study; Genomes; Glucosinolates; Indoleacetic acid; Introns; Jasmonic acid; Laboratories; Malate; Malus - classification; Malus - genetics; Malus - metabolism; Malus domestica; Membrane Transport Proteins - chemistry; Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics; Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Molecular Sequence Annotation; Multigene Family; nitrate concentration; Nitrates; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - metabolism; NPF gene family; Peptide transporter; Peptides; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plants, Genetically Modified; Protein Domains; Proteins; Rice; Seeds; Signal transduction; Transcription; apple; nitrate concentration; genome-wide; expression analysis; NPF gene family
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms19092761

The NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1/PEPTIDE TRANSPORTER family (NPF) proteins play important roles in moving substrates such as nitrate, peptides, amino acids, dicarboxylates, malate, glucosinolates, indole acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), and jasmonic acid. Although a unified nomenclature of NPF members in plants has been reported, this gene family has not been studied as thoroughly in apple ( × Borkh.) as it has in other species. Our objective was to provide general information about apple s and analyze the transcriptional responses of some members to different levels of nitrate supplies. We identified 73 of these genes from the apple genome and used phylogenetic analysis to organize them into eight major groups. These apple NPFs are structurally conserved, based on alignment of amino acid sequences and analyses of phylogenetics and conserved domains. Examination of their genomic structures indicated that these genes are highly conserved among other species. We monitored 14 cloned s that showed varied expression patterns under different nitrate concentrations and in different tissues. Among them, was significantly induced by both low and high levels of nitrate. When compared with the wild type, transgenic apple calli were more tolerant to low-N stress, which demonstrated that this gene confers greater capacity for nitrogen uptake under those conditions. We also analyzed the expression patterns of those 73 genes in various tissues. Our findings benefit future research on this family of genes.