Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Evaluation of reference genes and expression patterns of CONSTANS-LIKE genes in Tetrastigma hemsleyanum under different photoperiods

Gang Zhao A , Wenling Liu A , Guowei Lin A and Jing Wen https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1265-7539 A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Life and Science College, Shangrao Normal University, Shangrao 334000, P. R. China.

* Correspondence to: wj55187742@163.com

Handling Editor: Sergey Shabala

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP23218 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP23218
Submitted: 12 October 2023  Accepted: 5 July 2024  Published: 22 July 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

CONSTANS-LIKE (COL) genes are a key signalling molecule that regulates plant growth and development during the photoperiod. Our preliminary experiments showed that the photoperiod greatly influence the formation of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum root tubers. In this study, we examined the oscillation patterns and expression characteristics of COL genes in leaves of T. hemsleyanum under different photoperiod conditions. Six genes were selected as candidate reference genes for further analyses: (1) 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA); (2) α-tubulin (TUBA); (3) 30S ribosomal RNA (30S rRNA); (4) TATA binding protein (TBP); (5) elongation factor 1α (EF-1α); and (6) RNA polymerase II (RPII). The geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper software programs were used to evaluate expression stability. Two ThCOL genes were screened in the T. hemsleyanum transcriptome library, and their expression patterns under different photoperiod conditions were analysed using quantitative reverse transcription PCR. The genes EF-1α, TUBA, and 18S rRNA were used to analyse the expression profiles of CONSTANS genes (ThCOL4 and ThCOL5) under different photoperiods. The expression peaks of ThCOL4 and ThCOL5 appeared at different times, demonstrating that their oscillation patterns were influenced by the photoperiod. We speculate that these two ThCOL genes may be involved in different biological processes.

Keywords: CONSTANS-LIKE gene, expression characteristics, expression stability ranking, oscillation patterns, photoperiod, RT-qPCR, reference gene, Tetrastigma hemsleyanum.

References

Abelenda JA, Cruz-Oró E, Franco-Zorrilla JM, Prat S (2016) Potato StCONSTANS-like1 suppresses storage organ formation by directly activating the FT-like StSP5G repressor. Current Biology 26, 872-881.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Andersen CL, Jensen JL, Ørntoft TF (2004) Normalization of real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR data: a model-based variance estimation approach to identify genes suited for normalization, applied to bladder and colon cancer data sets. Cancer Research 64(15), 5245-5250.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Andrés F, Kinoshita A, Kalluri N, Fernández V, Falavigna VS, Cruz TMD, Jang S, Chiba Y, Seo M, Mettler-Altmann T, Huettel B, Coupland G (2020) The sugar transporter SWEET10 acts downstream of FLOWERING LOCUS T during floral transition of Arabidopsis thaliana. BMC Plant Biology 20(1), 53.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Awal Khan MA, Zhang S, Emon RM, Chen F, Song W, Wu T, Yuan S, Wu C, Hou W, Sun S, Fu Y, Jiang B, Han T (2022) CONSTANS polymorphism modulates flowering time and maturity in soybean. Frontiers in Plant Science 13, 817544.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Boeckmann B, Bairoch A, Apweiler R, Blatter MC, Estreicher A, Gasteiger E, Martin M-J, Michoud K, O’Donovan C, Phan I, Pilbout S, Schneider M (2003) The SWISS-PROT protein knowledgebase and its supplement TrEMBL in 2003. Nucleic Acids Research 31(1), 365-370.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Cao D, Lin Z, Huang L, Damaris RN, Li M, Yang P (2021) A CONSTANS-LIKE gene of Nelumbo nucifera could promote potato tuberization. Planta 253(3), 65.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Chen S, Luo M, Ma L, Lin W (2018) Ethylacetate extract from Tetrastigma hemsleyanum inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells. Cancer Management and Research 10, 3793-3799.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Chen X, Tao L, Ru Y, Weng S, Chen Z, Wang J, Guo L, Lin Z, Pan W, Qiu B (2019) Antibacterial mechanism of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg’s polysaccharides by metabolomics based on HPLC/MS. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 140, 206-215.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Creux N, Harmer S (2019) Circadian rhythms in plants. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology 11(9), a034611.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Deng X, Fan X, Li P, Fei X (2015) A photoperiod-regulating gene CONSTANS is correlated to lipid biosynthesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. BioMed Research International 2015, 715020.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Feng Z, Hao W, Lin X, Fan D, Zhou J (2014) Antitumor activity of total flavonoids from Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg is associated with the inhibition of regulatory T cells in mice. OncoTargets and Therapy 7, 947-956.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

González-Schain ND, Díaz-Mendoza M, Żurczak M, Suárez-López P (2012) Potato CONSTANS is involved in photoperiodic tuberization in a graft-transmissible manner. The Plant Journal 70(4), 678-690.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Hu R, Fan C, Li H, Zhang Q, Fu Y-F (2009) Evaluation of putative reference genes for gene expression normalization in soybean by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. BMC Molecular Biology 10, 93.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ji W, Peng X, Lou T, Wang J, Qiu W (2019) Total flavonoids from Tetrastigma hemsleyanum ameliorates inflammatory stress in concanavalin A-induced autoimmune hepatitis mice by regulating Treg/Th17 immune homeostasis. Inflammopharmacology 27(6), 1297-1307.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Joseph JT, Poolakkalody NJ, Shah JM (2018) Plant reference genes for development and stress response studies. Journal of Biosciences 43(1), 173-187.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ke Y-T, Lin K-F, Gu C-H, Yeh C-H (2020) Molecular characterization and expression profile of PaCOL1, a CONSTANS-like gene in Phalaenopsis Orchid. Plants 9(1), 68.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kondhare KR, Natarajan B, Banerjee AK (2020) Molecular signals that govern tuber development in potato. The International Journal of Developmental Biology 64(1-2-3), 133-140.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Kozera B, Rapacz M (2013) Reference genes in real-time PCR. Journal of Applied Genetics 54(4), 391-406.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Li R, Xie W, Wang S, Wu Q, Yang N, Yang X, Pan H, Zhou X, Bai L, Xu B, Zhou X, Zhang Y (2013) Reference gene selection for qRT-PCR analysis in the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). PLoS ONE 8(1), e53006.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lin X, Liu B, Weller JL, Abe J, Kong F (2021) Molecular mechanisms for the photoperiodic regulation of flowering in soybean. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 63(6), 981-994.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Liu Z, Cheng K, Qin Z, Wu T, Li X, Tu J, Yang F, Zhu H, Yang L (2018) Selection and validation of suitable reference genes for qRT-PCR analysis in pear leaf tissues under distinct training systems. PLoS ONE 13(8), e0202472.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Livak KJ, Schmittgen TD (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2(−△△CT) method. Methods 25(4), 402-408.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Mallona I, Lischewski S, Weiss J, Hause B, Egea-Cortines M (2010) Validation of reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR during leaf and flower development in Petunia hybrida. BMC Plant Biology 10, 4.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Martínez-García JF, Virgós-Soler A, Prat S (2002) Control of photoperiod-regulated tuberization in potato by the Arabidopsis flowering-time gene CONSTANS. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99(23), 15211-15216.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Morita R, Sugino M, Hatanaka T, Misoo S, Fukayama H (2015) CO2-responsive CONSTANS, CONSTANS-like, and time of chlorophyll a/b binding protein Expression1 protein is a positive regulator of starch synthesis in vegetative organs of rice. Plant Physiology 167(4), 1321-1331.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Moura JCMS, Araújo P, Brito MdS, Souza UR, Viana JOF, Mazzafera P (2012) Validation of reference genes from Eucalyptus spp. under different stress conditions. BMC Research Notes 5, 634.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Peng X, Ji Q, Fan S, Zhang Y, Zhang J (2015) Genetic diversity in populations of the endangered medicinal plant Tetrastigma hemsleyanum revealed by ISSR and SRAP markers:implications for conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 62, 1069-1078.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pfaffl MW (2001) A new mathematical model for relative quantification in real-time RT-PCR. Nucleic Acids Research 29(9), e45.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Reddy DS, Bhatnagar-Mathur P, Reddy PS, Sri Cindhuri K, Sivaji Ganesh A, Sharma KK (2016) Identification and validation of reference genes and their impact on normalized gene expression studies across cultivated and wild Cicer species. PLoS ONE 11(2), e0148451.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Ru Y, Chen X, Wang J, Guo L, Lin Z, Peng X, Qiu B (2019) Polysaccharides from Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg: extraction optimization, structural characterizations, antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activities in hyperlipidemic mice. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 125, 1033-1041.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Serrano-Bueno G, Said FE, de Los Reyes P, Lucas-Reina EI, Ortiz-Marchena MI, Romero JM, Valverde F (2020) CONSTANS-FKBP12 interaction contributes to modulation of photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal 101(6), 1287-1302.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Shim JS, Kubota A, Imaizumi T (2017) Circadian clock and photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis: CONSTANS is a hub for signal integration. Plant Physiology 173(1), 5-15.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Singh RK, Miskolczi P, Maurya JP, Bhalerao RP (2019) A tree ortholog of SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE floral repressor mediates photoperiodic control of bud dormancy. Current Biology 29, 128-133.e2.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Vandesompele J, De Preter K, Pattyn F, Poppe B, Van Roy N, De Paepe A, Speleman F (2002) Accurate normalization of real-time quantitative RT-PCR data by geometric averaging of multiple internal control genes. Genome Biology 3(7), research0034.1.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wang CY, Lee JS, Su XD, Li HX, Lee SK, Wang H-S, Kim YH, Yang SY (2018a) Three new constituents from the aerial parts of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum. Phytochemistry Letters 27, 25-29.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wang CY, Jang H-J, Han YK, Su XD, Lee SW, Rho M-C, Wang H-S, Yang SY, Kim YH (2018b) Alkaloids from Tetrastigma hemsleyanum and their anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. Molecules 23(6), 1445.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Wu W, Zhang Y, Zhang M, Zhan X, Shen X, Yu P, Chen D, Liu Q, Sinumporn S, Hussain K, Cheng S, Cao L (2018) The rice CONSTANS-like protein OsCOL15 suppresses flowering by promoting Ghd7 and repressing RID1. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 495(1), 1349-1355.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Xia G-S, Li S-H, Zhou W (2018) Isoquercitrin, ingredients in Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg, inhibits hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor-induced tumor cell migration and invasion. Cell Adhesion & Migration 12(5), 464-471.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Zhao X, Yu F, Guo Q, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Liu Y (2022) Genome-wide identification, characterization, and expression profile analysis of CONSTANS-like genes in Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca). Frontiers in Plant Science 13, 931721.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |