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Molecular basis for neofunctionalization of duplicated E3 ubiquitin ligases underlying adaptation to drought tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana
Author(s) -
JiménezMorales Estela,
AguilarHernández Victor,
AguilarHein Laura,
Guzmán Plinio
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/tpj.14938
Subject(s) - biology , gene , neofunctionalization , genetics , gene duplication , genome , arabidopsis thaliana , gene family , transcriptome , gene expression , arabidopsis , promoter , mutant
SUMMARY Multigene families in plants expanded from ancestral genes via gene duplication mechanisms constitute a significant fraction of the coding genome. Although most duplicated genes are lost over time, many are retained in the genome. Clusters of tandemly arrayed genes are commonly found in the plant genome where they can promote expansion of gene families. In the present study, promoter fusion to the GUS reporter gene was used to examine the promoter architecture of duplicated E3 ligase genes that are part of group C in the Arabidopsis thaliana ATL family. Acquisition of gene expression by AtATL78 , possibly generated from defective AtATL81 expression, is described. AtATL78 expression was purportedly enhanced by insertion of a TATA box within the core promoter region after a short tandem duplication that occurred during evolution of Brassicaceae lineages. This gene is associated with an adaptation to drought tolerance of A. thaliana . These findings also suggest duplicated genes could serve as a reservoir of tacit genetic information, and expression of these duplicated genes is activated upon acquisition of core promoter sequences. Remarkably, drought transcriptome profiling in response to rehydration suggests that ATL78 ‐dependent gene expression predominantly affects genes with root‐specific activities.