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Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic and expression analysis of the maize HECT E3 ubiquitin ligase genes

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Abstract

HECT (homologous to the E6AP carboxyl terminus) ubiquitin ligase genes (E3s) are enzymes with diverse functions influencing plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic stresses. However, there is relatively little information available regarding the maize HECT E3 gene family. In the present study, 12 maize HECT E3 genes (ZmUPL1 to ZmUPL12) were identified at the whole-genome level. The phylogenetic relationships, structures, and expression levels of the maize HECT E3 genes were then analyzed. On the basis of the constructed maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree, the HECT E3 genes were divided into six groups. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay results revealed that all of the maize ZmUPL genes were expressed in most of the examined tissues and were responsive to three abiotic stresses. Considered together, the study results may provide a useful foundation for future investigations of maize stress-tolerance genes as well as functional analyses of the E3 enzymes in diverse agriculturally important crop species.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD0100106), the Keypoint Research and Invention Program of Guangdong Province (2018B020202013), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (2018A030313865).

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  1. Yunfeng Li and Lihong Zhai contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Yunfeng Li, Jingsheng Fan, Xin Wang & Jun Huang

  2. Medical College, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, 441053, China

    Lihong Zhai, Jiaxin Ren & Wenrong Gong

  3. College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Yunfeng Li, Jingsheng Fan, Xin Wang & Jun Huang

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  1. Yunfeng Li
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  2. Lihong Zhai
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Contributions

J.H. and L.Z. designed and supervised the study. Y.L. and J.H. analyzed the data. Y.L. and J.F. performed the experiments. Y.L., W.G., L.Z. and J.H. prepared the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jun Huang.

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Li, Y., Zhai, L., Fan, J. et al. Genome-wide identification, phylogenetic and expression analysis of the maize HECT E3 ubiquitin ligase genes. Genetica 147, 391–400 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-019-00080-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-019-00080-4

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