Evolutionary diversification of galactinol synthases in Rosaceae: adaptive roles of galactinol and raffinose during apple bud dormancy.

ABSTRACT: Galactinol synthase (GolS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs), which play roles in carbon storage, signal transduction, and osmoprotection. The present work assessed the evolutionary history of GolS genes across the Rosaceae using several bioinformatic tools. Apple (Malus × domestica) GolS genes were transcriptionally characterized during bud dormancy, in parallel with galactinol and raffinose measurements. Additionally, MdGolS2, a candidate to regulate seasonal galactinol and RFO content during apple bud dormancy, was functionally characterized in Arabidopsis. Evolutionary analyses revealed that whole genome duplications have driven GolS gene evolution and diversification in Rosaceae speciation. The strong purifying selection identified

SUBMITTER: Falavigna VDS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6018919 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature