IDENTIFICATION, STRUCTURAL AND PHYLOGENY ANALYSES OF THE SUCROSE TRANSPORTER FAMILY IN CERATOPTERIS RICHARDII

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify and characterize the sucrose transporters (SWEET) in Ceratopteris richardii, one of the major ornamental fern houseplants. By screening the conserved domain, a total of 20 members of the CericSWEET family has been identified in the assembly of C. richardii. Our comparison revealed that the numbers of members in the SWEET family were variable between plant species. Subcellular localization showed that CericSWEET proteins were localized in most essential organelles. Next, the CericSWEET family exhibited the variable physic-chemical properties, while a large number of genes contained 6 exons like reported in other plant species. Based on the Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic tree, the CericSWEET family could be classified into 3 sub-groups. Two genes, CericSWEET07 and 12 were hypothesized to function in the drought response. Addtionally, numerous drought- and abscisic acid-responsive cis- regulatory elements have been found in the promoter regions of the CericSWEET genes. Taken together, our results could provide an important foundation for the CerisSWEET family in C. richardii.