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The role and pathway of VQ family in plant growth, immunity, and stress response

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Abstract

Main conclusion

This review provides a detailed description of the function and mechanism of VQ family gene, which is helpful for further research and application of VQ gene resources to improve crops.

Abstract

Valine-glutamine (VQ) motif-containing proteins are a large class of transcriptional regulatory cofactors. VQ proteins have their own unique molecular characteristics. Amino acids are highly conserved only in the VQ domain, while other positions vary greatly. Most VQ genes do not contain introns and the length of their proteins is less than 300 amino acids. A majority of VQ proteins are predicted to be localized in the nucleus. The promoter of many VQ genes contains stress or growth related elements. Segment duplication and tandem duplication are the main amplification mechanisms of the VQ gene family in angiosperms and gymnosperms, respectively. Purification selection plays a crucial role in the evolution of many VQ genes. By interacting with WRKY, MAPK, and other proteins, VQ proteins participate in the multiple signaling pathways to regulate plant growth and development, as well as defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Although there have been some reports on the VQ gene family in plants, most of them only identify family members, with little functional verification, and there is also a lack of complete, detailed, and up-to-date review of research progress. Here, we comprehensively summarized the research progress of VQ genes that have been published so far, mainly including their molecular characteristics, biological functions, importance of VQ motif, and working mechanisms. Finally, the regulatory network and model of VQ genes were drawn, a precise molecular breeding strategy based on VQ genes was proposed, and the current problems and future prospects were pointed out, providing a powerful reference for further research and utilization of VQ genes in plant improvement.

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Abbreviations

Ka:

The nonsynonymous substitution rate

Ks:

The synonymous substitution rate

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Funding

This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council (No. 202103250061) and GSCAAS-ULg Joint PhD Program.

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Authors

Contributions

FF and JT provided the ideas. JT and JZ performed the investigation and analysis. JT wrote the manuscript. FF and JT revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jinfu Tian.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Communicated by Gerhard Leubner.

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Tian, J., Zhang, J. & Francis, F. The role and pathway of VQ family in plant growth, immunity, and stress response. Planta 259, 16 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-023-04292-z

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