Molecular and Phylogenetic Analyses of the MADS-Box Gene Family in Tomato

Authors: Hileman, Lena C.; Sundstrom, Jens F.; Litt, Amy; Chen, Meiqin; Shumba, Takudzwa; Irish, Vivian F.

Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 23, Number 11, November 2006 , pp. 2245-2258(14)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Abstract:

MIKC^c-type MADS-box genes encode key transcriptional regulators of a variety of developmental processes in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, there has been relatively little effort to systematically carry out comparative genomic or functional analyses of these genes across flowering plants. Here we describe a strategy to identify members of the MIKC^c-type MADS-box gene family from any angiosperm species of interest. Using this approach, we have identified 24 MIKC^c-type MADS-box genes in tomato, including 17 that have not previously been characterized. Using these sequences, we have performed phylogenetic analyses that indicate that there have been a number of gene duplication and loss events in tomato relative to Arabidopsis. We also describe the expression domains of these genes and compare these results with their cognates in Arabidopsis. These analyses demonstrate the utility of this approach for characterizing a large number of MIKC^c-type MADS-box genes from any flowering plant species of interest and provide a framework for evolutionary comparisons of this important gene family across angiosperms.

Keywords: tomato; Solanaceae; homeotic gene; MADS-box gene; gene duplication

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msl095

Publication date: 2006-11-01

More about this publication?

• Molecular Biology and Evolution publishes research at the interface between molecular and evolutionary biology. The journal publishes investigations of molecular evolutionary patterns and processes, tests of evolutionary hypotheses that use molecular data, and studies that use molecular evolutionary information to address questions about biological function at all levels of organization.

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