AUTHOR=Cao Jun 

TITLE=Analysis of the Prefoldin Gene Family in 14 Plant Species

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2016.00317

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2016.00317

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Prefoldin is a hexameric molecular chaperone complex present in all eukaryotes and archaea. The evolution of this gene family in plants is unknown. Here, I identified 140 <italic>prefoldin</italic> genes in 14 plant species. These prefoldin proteins were divided into nine groups through phylogenetic analysis. Highly conserved gene organization and motif distribution exist in each prefoldin group, implying their functional conservation. I also observed the segmental duplication of maize <italic>prefoldin</italic> gene family. Moreover, a few functional divergence sites were identified within each group pairs. Functional network analyses identified 78 co-expressed genes, and most of them were involved in carrying, binding and kinase activity. Divergent expression profiles of the maize <italic>prefoldin</italic> genes were further investigated in different tissues and development periods and under auxin and some abiotic stresses. I also found a few <italic>cis</italic>-elements responding to abiotic stress and phytohormone in the upstream sequences of the maize <italic>prefoldin</italic> genes. The results provided a foundation for exploring the characterization of the <italic>prefoldin</italic> genes in plants and will offer insights for additional functional studies.</p>