The road less travelled? Exploring the nuanced evolutionary consequences of duplicated genes

Identification and Expression Profile of NCED Genes in Arachis hypogaea L. during Drought Stress

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important crop that provides essential proteins and oils for human and animal consumption. 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) have been found can play a vital role in abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and may be a response to drought stress. Until now, in Arachis hypogaea, no information about the NCED gene family has been reported and the importance of NCED-related drought tolerance is unclear. In this study, eight NCED genes in Arachis hypogaea, referred to as AhNCEDs, are distributed across eight chromosomes, with duplication events in AhNCED1 and AhNCED2, AhNCED3 and AhNCED4, and AhNCED6 and AhNCED7. Comparative analysis revealed that NCED genes are highly conserved among plant species, including Pisum sativum, Phaseolus vulgaris, Glycine max, Arabidopsis thaliana, Gossypium hirsutum, and Oryza sativa. Further promoter analysis showed AhNCEDs have ABA-related and drought-inducible elements. The phenotyping of Arachis hypogaea cultivars NH5 and FH18 demonstrated that NH5 is drought-tolerant and FH18 is drought-sensitive. Transcriptome expression analysis revealed the differential regulation of AhNCEDs expression in both NH5 and FH18 cultivars under drought stress. Furthermore, compared to the Arachis hypogaea cultivar FH18, the NH5 exhibited a significant upregulation of AhNCED1/2 expression under drought. To sum up, this study provides an insight into the drought-related AhNCED genes, screened out the potential candidates to regulate drought tolerance and ABA biosynthesis in Arachis hypogaea.

A special issue of Essays in Biochemistry on evolutionary developmental biology

Evolutionary developmental biology (or evo devo) is a broad field that aims to understand how developmental processes evolve and how this underpins phenotypic change and organismal diversification. This encompasses a need to understand theoretical concepts in evolutionary biology and how tissues, cells, genes, proteins and regulatory elements function and evolve. The articles in this special issue review key topics in the field of evo devo including advances in theory and methodology as well as our latest knowledge about molecular, cellular and organismal functionality and diversification.