Yingmei Feng

Publications (2)5.38 Total impact

• Article: Molecular Cloning and Characterisation of Genes Coding for Glycine- and Proline-Rich Proteins (GPRPs) in Soybean

  Hui Peng, Yingmei Feng, Hong Zhang, Xinkui Wei, Shichu Liang
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  ABSTRACT: Genes encoding glycine- and proline-rich proteins (GPRPs) are widely distributed in land plants, but these have been rarely characterised. In this study, a total of six GPRPs (GmGPRP1 to 6) have been identified in the soybean genome database, and full-length complementary DNA and genomic DNA sequences of GmGPRP3 and GmGPRP4 have been cloned. GmGPRP1-6 genes encoded a set of small predicted proteins (<185aa) with molecular mass of 12.35–19.67kDa and isoelectric point of 6.79–10.22. GmGPRP1-5 contained three exons and two introns with fixed occurring sites, whereas GmGPRP6 only has two exons and one intron. In the deduced GmGPRP1-5 sequences, six amino acids (glycine, proline, histidine, alanine, lysine and tyrosine) account for more than 75% of the total protein composition. GmGPRPs showed high similarity to other known GPRPs at amino acid level. Most of GPRPs had three conserved regions, including an N-terminal XYPP-repeat domain, a central hydrophobic domain containing several uninterrupted alanine residues and a C-terminal HGK-repeat region. The transcripts of GmGPRP1, 3 and 4 appeared in different organs including seedling leaves, stems and roots, flowers and developing seeds, but every gene showed a unique organ-specific expression pattern. Furthermore, the expression of GmGPRP1, 3 and 4 was significantly induced by drought, salt and cold, but repressed by abscisic acid. In silico analysis of promoter regions of these genes revealed the presence of putative abiotic-stress regulatory elements. Our data suggest GmGPRPs encoding a class of conservative XYPP-repeat proteins probably play an important role in plant development as well as in response to abiotic stresses. KeywordsAbscisic acid– Glycine max –GmGPRP–Stress regulation–XYPP motif
  Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 05/2012; · 2.45 Impact Factor
• Article: Molecular analysis of the PGYRP (proline-, glycine- and tyrosine-rich protein) gene family in soybean.

  Yingmei Feng, Hui Peng, Shichu Liang
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  ABSTRACT: The genes coding for PGYRPs (proline-, glycine- and tyrosine-rich proteins) are widely distributed across eukaryotes and have been proposed to have critical role in plant development, especially in response to environmental stresses. In this study, total of 12 soybean PGYRPs (GmPGYRP1-12) were identified from the soybean genome database for the first time and full-length cDNA and DNA sequences of GmPGYRP7 was cloned. GmPGYRP1-12 genes encoded a set of small predicted proteins (<120 aa) with molecular mass of 7.20-13.29 kDa and isoelectric point of 4.06-6.57. All GmPGYRPs contained three exons and two introns with fixed occurring sites within genomic DNA sequences. In the putative GmPGYRP sequences, 4 amino acids (proline, glycine, tyrosine, and glutamine) account for more than 39% of the total protein composition. GmPGYRPs had a relatively flexible GYPPX motif followed by a highly conserved cysteine-rich domain (GCLAAXCCCCXLXC) and showed high similarity to other known PGYRPs, especially in C-terminal region. Most of PGYRPs can be divided into five subgroups according to phylogenetic analysis. The transcripts of GmPGYRP1, 3, 5, and 7, representing different PGYRP subgroups, appeared in different organs including seedling leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and developing seeds, but mainly accumulated in seedling roots. Furthermore, the expression of GmPGYRP1, 3, 5, and 7 was significantly regulated by drought, salt and cold, but obviously repressed by abscisic acid (ABA) at early stage. Our data suggest that GmPGYRP genes encoding a class of conservative XYPPX-repeat proteins probably play an important role in plant development as well as in response to abiotic stresses.
  Molecular Biology Reports 11/2010; 38(4):2739-50. · 2.93 Impact Factor