Identification of the Maize GLP Family Genes and Their Expression in Response to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis

doi:10.7525/j.issn.1673-5102.2025.03.011

Abstract

Abstract:

Germin-like proteins （GLPs） are a class of highly conserved stress-responsive proteins that can specifically respond to symbiotic interactions. This study， based on the whole-genome information of maize B73， used bioinformatics approaches to identify and analyze the characteristics of the ZmGLP gene family. The expression patterns of ZmGLP genes during arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi（AMF） symbiosis were examined by using transcriptome data. This study identified a total of 45 ZmGLP genes， which were distributed across nine chromosomes， with 25 of the genes being tandem duplications. By analysis of a phylogenetic tree， ZmGLP genes were classified into five distinct subfamilies. Notably， there were significant differences in tissue expression patterns among different ZmGLP genes. Promoter cis-element analysis showed that ZmGLP promoters contained elements responsive to light， stress， and growth and development. Interestingly， the promoter of ZmGLP4-8 contained the mycorrhiza-responsive element MYCS， and 20 ZmGLP promoters contained the potential mycorrhiza-responsive element GCCGGC. Analysis of transcriptome data from maize roots at different days after inoculation with AMF revealed that the expression of 12 ZmGLP genes was significantly changed following inoculation with AMF. Among them， ZmGLP3-3， ZmGLP4-8， ZmGLP4-16， ZmGLP4-20， ZmGLP5-1， and ZmGLP6-1 were significantly upregulated in expression during the late stage of symbiosis. These genes were located in different evolutionary branches compared to the reported symbiosis-related GLP genes， suggesting that these genes may be involved in functions related to the late stage of mycorrhizal symbiosis. Functional studies of ZmGLP3-3 showed that， compared to wild-type maize plants， the mycorrhizal symbiosis rate of the mutant zmglp3-3 was significantly reduced. In summary， this study provided a comprehensive theoretical basis for the exploration of symbiosis-related ZmGLP genes in maize， offering insights into their potential roles and functions in plant-fungal interactions.

Key words: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, germin-like proteins, gene family, mycorrhizal symbiosis, expression analysis

CLC Number:

Q939

Jianhui CHUN, Wenlong DONG, Yuanchao TU, Fang LIU, Yunjian XU. Identification of the Maize GLP Family Genes and Their Expression in Response to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis[J]. Bulletin of Botanical Research, 2025, 45(3): 406-418.

Figures/Tables 7

Table 1

Information of ZmGLP gene family members

基因名称 Gene name	基因ID Gene ID	氨基酸数目 Number of amino acids/aa	相对分子量 Relative molecular weight/kDa	蛋白等电点 Theoretical pI	不稳定指数 Instability index（Ⅱ）	脂肪族氨基酸指数 Aliphatic index	平均疏水性 Average of hydropathicity	亚细胞定位 Subcellular localization
ZmGLP1-1	Zm00001eb005890	230	23.96	6.04	35.85	90.87	0.20	细胞壁
ZmGLP1-2	Zm00001eb040290	114	12.52	6.26	29.95	90.70	0.08	细胞壁
ZmGLP1-3	Zm00001eb040300	232	24.55	7.01	33.53	96.68	0.18	细胞壁
ZmGLP1-4	Zm00001eb053700	225	23.79	5.89	13.41	90.89	0.08	细胞壁
ZmGLP1-5	Zm00001eb061410	228	23.72	6.04	18.95	82.98	0.14	细胞壁
ZmGLP2-1	Zm00001eb070560	263	26.90	7.80	27.42	90.84	0.28	细胞壁
ZmGLP2-2	Zm00001eb088410	226	24.60	6.40	32.27	94.51	0.05	细胞壁
ZmGLP2-3	Zm00001eb095950	208	21.65	5.34	27.25	86.44	0.32	细胞壁
ZmGLP3-1	Zm00001eb129440	218	22.82	6.57	32.98	85.55	0.20	细胞壁
ZmGLP3-2	Zm00001eb140880	208	21.34	5.59	49.81	90.58	0.13	细胞壁
ZmGLP3-3	Zm00001eb155450	220	22.95	5.88	32.98	86.95	0.33	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-1	Zm00001eb171490	157	16.92	6.25	19.75	96.24	0.09	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-2	Zm00001eb171500	228	24.81	7.77	24.61	94.12	0.03	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-3	Zm00001eb171510	228	24.80	7.77	26.54	92.81	0.02	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-4	Zm00001eb171520	228	24.64	6.50	25.51	92.41	0.03	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-5	Zm00001eb171530	229	24.77	6.28	26.18	94.59	0.05	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-6	Zm00001eb171540	229	24.79	6.28	24.75	92.88	0.02	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-7	Zm00001eb171550	228	24.64	6.89	26.12	95.00	0.08	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-8	Zm00001eb171560	127	13.89	6.96	30.13	86.06	-0.13	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-9	Zm00001eb171570	228	24.61	6.50	26.55	93.29	0.05	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-10	Zm00001eb171580	229	24.78	6.57	23.89	94.15	0.06	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-11	Zm00001eb171590	209	22.78	9.21	25.83	93.78	-0.06	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-12	Zm00001eb171600	228	24.55	6.27	25.00	94.12	0.05	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-13	Zm00001eb171610	228	24.57	6.57	24.79	94.12	0.05	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-14	Zm00001eb171620	193	20.94	6.30	31.98	100.98	-0.04	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-15	Zm00001eb171630	229	24.79	6.57	26.11	92.88	0.04	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-16	Zm00001eb171640	228	24.72	6.96	26.92	93.29	0.03	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-17	Zm00001eb171650	228	24.52	6.50	24.21	94.56	0.07	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-18	Zm00001eb171660	222	23.82	6.89	24.34	96.26	0.12	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-19	Zm00001eb197900	257	28.02	5.83	39.10	85.37	0.24	细胞壁
ZmGLP4-20	Zm00001eb202970	218	23.25	6.88	20.79	91.74	0.27	细胞壁
ZmGLP5-1	Zm00001eb232890	224	23.09	7.74	25.23	94.20	0.31	细胞壁
ZmGLP5-2	Zm00001eb242750	234	24.58	6.52	32.21	83.08	0.06	细胞壁
ZmGLP6-1	Zm00001eb282040	212	21.89	6.01	23.72	102.12	0.53	细胞壁
ZmGLP6-2	Zm00001eb287560	227	23.25	5.11	28.34	100.22	0.49	细胞壁
ZmGLP6-3	Zm00001eb294140	215	22.44	5.89	24.18	104.33	0.44	细胞壁
ZmGLP7-1	Zm00001eb301380	231	23.57	8.58	33.12	97.66	0.33	细胞壁
ZmGLP8-1	Zm00001eb332460	214	22.36	6.57	30.74	86.68	0.18	细胞壁
ZmGLP8-2	Zm00001eb362850	226	23.38	6.89	42.54	93.76	0.22	细胞壁
ZmGLP10-1	Zm00001eb413180	226	24.63	6.18	20.73	93.19	-0.05	细胞壁
ZmGLP10-2	Zm00001eb413190	226	24.69	6.18	27.33	92.74	0	细胞壁
ZmGLP10-3	Zm00001eb413210	227	24.70	6.04	25.19	94.49	0	细胞壁
ZmGLP10-4	Zm00001eb413250	225	24.30	6.03	25.04	94.09	0.15	细胞壁
ZmGLP10-5	Zm00001eb413260	225	24.25	6.28	29.02	94.09	0.16	细胞壁
ZmGLP10-6	Zm00001eb419900	227	24.68	6.90	31.57	94.49	0.07	细胞壁

Table 1

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