Identification of the CDPK gene family in patchouli and functional analysis in response to continuous cropping stress

Xiaofeng Liu; Muhammad Zeeshan Ul Haq; Jing Yu; Ya Liu; Huageng Yang; Hongguang Cui; Dongmei Yang; Yougen Wu

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1300073

Identification of the CDPK gene family in patchouli and functional analysis in response to continuous cropping stress

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Nov 22:14:1300073. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1300073. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xiaofeng Liu¹, Muhammad Zeeshan Ul Haq¹, Jing Yu¹, Ya Liu¹, Huageng Yang¹, Hongguang Cui¹, Dongmei Yang¹, Yougen Wu¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya, China.

Abstract

To further reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of continuous cropping disorders in patchouli, this study analyzed the function of calcium dependent protein kinase (CDPK) genes at the molecular level in patchouli continuous cropping disorders. The findings unveiled the presence of 45 PcCDPK genes within the complete patchouli genome dataset. These genes exhibited a range of molecular weights from 50.78 to 78.96 kDa and aliphatic index values spanning from 74.42 to 88.49, and are shown to be hydrophilic proteins. The evolution of 45 PcCDPK members was divided into 4 subfamilies, with a total of 65 pairs of collinear genes. Each PcCDPK contains a STKc-CAMK domain and four EF-hand structures exhibiting a certain degree of conservatism during evolution. Transcriptome data further supported the significance of PcCDPK25 and PcCDPK38 genes, showing substantial upregulation, which was corroborated by qRT-PCR results. The 1629 bp and 1716 bp CDS sequences were obtained by cloning the PcCDPK25 and PcCDPK38 genes, respectively, and subcellular localization showed that both proteins were localized on the plasma membrane. This comprehensive study provides molecular-level confirmation of the pivotal roles played by CDPK genes in the emergence of continuous cropping challenges in patchouli plants, establishing a crucial foundation for a deeper comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underpinning these obstacles.

Keywords: CDPK gene family; Pogostemon cablin (patchouli); continuous cropping disorders; gene cloning; subcellular localization.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82260737), the Key Research and Development Program of Hainan Province (No. ZDYF2021SHFZ075), the Collaborative Innovation Center of Nanfan and High-Efficiency Tropical Agriculture, Hainan University (XTCX2022NYB11), and the Startup Funding from Hainan University (No. KYQD(ZR)23018).