AUTHOR=Yuan Jingping , Shen Changwei , Chen Bihua , Shen Aimin , Li Xinzheng 

TITLE=Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Analysis of CAMTA Gene Family Under Salt Stress in Cucurbita moschata and Cucurbita maxima

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.647339

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.647339

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Cucurbita Linn. vegetables have a long history of cultivation and have been cultivated all over the world. With the increasing area of saline-alkali soil, Cucurbita Linn. is affected by salt stress and calmodulin-binding transcription activator (CAMTA) is known for its important biological functions. Although CAMTA gene family has been identified in several species, there is no comprehensive analysis on Cucurbita species. In this study, we analyzed the genome of Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata. Five C. moschata calmodulin-binding transcription activators (CmoCAMTAs) and 6 C. maxima calmodulin-binding transcription activators (CmaCAMTAs) were identified, and they were divided into three subfamilies (Subfamily I, II and III) based on the sequence identity of amino acid. CAMTAs from the same subfamily usually have similar exon-intron distribution and conserved domains (CG-1, TIG, IQ and Ank_2). Chromosome localization analysis showed that CmoCAMTAs and CmaCAMTAs were unevenly distributed across 4 and 5 out of 21 chromosomes, respectively. A total of three duplicate gene pairs, and all of which had experienced segmental duplication events. The transcriptional profiles of CmoCAMTAs and CmaCAMTAs in roots, stems, leaves and fruits showed that these CAMTAs have tissue specificity. Cis-acting elements analysis showed that most of CmoCAMTAs and CmaCAMTAs responded to salt stress. By analyzing the transcriptional profiles of CmoCAMTAs and CmaCAMTAs under salt stress, it was showed that both C. moschata and C. maxima shared similarities against salt tolerance and it's likely to contribute to the development of these species. Finally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) further demonstrated the key role of CmoCAMTAs and CmaCAMTAs under salt stress. This study provided a theoretical basis for studying the function and mechanism of CAMTAs in Cucurbita Linn.