Dof(DNA-binding with one finger)蛋白是植物特有的一类转录因子,在植物生长发育过程中起着重要的作用。在其N-末端有一个52氨基酸残基组成的高度保守的C2-C2单锌指结构,称为Dof保守域,能够特异性的识别植物启动子序列中的AAAG/CTTT作用元件,从而激活或抑制植物基因的表达;其C-末端的转录调控结构域,氨基酸序列较为多变,不具有保守性,是Dof蛋白在植物中功能多样性的基础;同时Dof蛋白也具有和蛋白相互作用的功能。在过去的十几年里,大量的Dof基因被克隆鉴定或从基因组数据库中预测出来,Dof蛋白在植物生长发育中的作用也受到更多关注。本文就Dof转录因子的特点,各物种中已经报道的Dof转录因子的数目、系统进化关系和分类及其生物学功能的进展进行了综述。
The Dof （DNA binding with One Finger） family encoding single zinc finger proteins has been known as a family of plant-specific transcription factors. These transcription factors are involved in a variety of functions of importance for different biological processes in plants. In the current study, we identified 34 Dof family genes in tomato （Solanum lycopersicum L.）, distributed on 11 chromosomes. A complete overview of SlDof genes in tomato is presented, including the gene structures, chromosome locations, phylogeny, protein motifs and evolution pattern. Phylogenetic analysis of 34 SlDof proteins resulted in four classes constituting six clusters. In addition, a comparative analysis between these genes in tomato, Arabidopsis （Arabidopsis thaliana L.） and rice （Oryza sativa L.） was also performed. The tomato Dof family expansion has been dated to recent duplication events, and segmental duplication is predominant for the SlDof genes. Furthermore, the SlDof genes displayed differential expression either in their transcript abundance or in their expression patterns under normal growth conditions. This is the first step towards genome-wide analyses of the Dof genes in tomato. Our study provides a very useful reference for cloning and functional analysis of the members of this gene family in tomato and other species.
