Molecular characterization and function analysis of the rice OsDUF617 family

Chunliu Li#, Dejia Hou#, Lin Zhang, Xiaohong Li, Jiangbo Fan, Yilun Dong, Jianqing Zhu, Zhengjian Huang, Zhengjun Xu*, Lihua Li*    

Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment（SCI, IF=1.186），2021, 35(1), 862-872     

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13102818.2021.1934541

Abstract

With the advance of sequencing technology, the number of sequenced genomes has been rapidly increasing. However, the functions of a large number of genes, including gene families with domains of unknown functions (DUF), still remain unclear. In this study, we analysed eight members of OsDUF617 (OsDUF617.1-OsDUF617.8) in rice Nipponbare. By phylogenetic analysis, all these OsDUF617 proteins could be classified into three major groups (I, II, III). We used real-time polymerase chain reaction to examine the expression of all these OsDUF617 members in 15 distinct rice tissues. The expression of these members under various abiotic stress and abscisic acid (ABA) conditions was also examined. Under drought conditions, the expression level of OsDUF617.8 in rice was significantly elevated. Overexpression of OsDUF617.8 in Escherichia coli led to a significant enhancement of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities, and improved bacterial resistance to osmotic stress. The results of this study will provide important information for further study of the function of the OsDUF617 family in rice.