AUTHOR=Zhang Kai , Yue Dingyi , Wei Wei , Hu Yang , Feng Jiayue , Zou Zhirong 

TITLE=Characterization and Functional Analysis of Calmodulin and Calmodulin-Like Genes in Fragaria vesca

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2016.01820

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2016.01820

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Calcium is a universal messenger that is involved in the modulation of diverse developmental and adaptive processes in response to various stimuli. Calmodulin (CaM) and calmodulin-like (CML) proteins are major calcium sensors in all eukaryotes, and they have been extensively investigated for many years in plants and animals. However, little is known about CaMs and CMLs in woodland strawberry (<italic>Fragaria vesca</italic>). In this study, we performed a genome-wide analysis of the strawberry genome and identified 4 <italic>CaM</italic> and 36 <italic>CML</italic> genes. Bioinformatics analyses, including gene structure, phylogenetic tree, synteny and three-dimensional model assessments, revealed the conservation and divergence of <italic>FvCaMs</italic> and <italic>FvCMLs</italic>, thus providing insight regarding their functions. In addition, the transcript abundance of four <italic>FvCaM</italic> genes and the four most related <italic>FvCML</italic> genes were examined in different tissues and in response to multiple stress and hormone treatments. Moreover, we investigated the subcellular localization of several FvCaMs and FvCMLs, revealing their potential interactions based on the localizations and potential functions. Furthermore, overexpression of five <italic>FvCaM</italic> and <italic>FvCML</italic> genes could not induce a hypersensitive response, but four of the five genes could increase resistance to <italic>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</italic> in <italic>Nicotiana benthamiana</italic> leaves. This study provides evidence for the biological roles of <italic>FvCaM</italic> and <italic>CML</italic> genes, and the results lay the foundation for future functional studies of these genes.</p>