Phylogenetic analysis of pectin-related gene families in Physcomitrella patens and nine other plant species yields evolutionary insights into cell walls.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pectins are acidic sugar-containing polysaccharides that are universally conserved components of the primary cell walls of plants and modulate both tip and diffuse cell growth. However, many of their specific functions and the evolution of the genes responsible for producing and modifying them are incompletely understood. The moss Physcomitrella patens is emerging as a powerful model system for the study of plant cell walls. To identify deeply conserved pectin-related genes in Physcomitrella, we generated phylogenetic trees for 16 pectin-related gene families using sequences from ten plant genomes and analyzed the evolutionary relationships within these families.

Results

Contrary to our initial hypothesis that a single ancestral gene was present for each pectin-re

SUBMITTER: McCarthy TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4108027 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature