Search

LEAFY (LFY) plays an important role in the flowering process of plants, controlling flowering time and mediating floral meristem differentiation. Owing to its considerable importance, the mango LFY gene (MiLFY; GenBank accession no. HQ585988) was isolated, and its expression pattern and function were characterized in the present study. The cDNA sequence of MiLFY was 1152 bp, and it encoded a 383 amino acid protein. MiLFY was expressed in all tested tissues and was highly expressed in flowers and buds. Temporal expression analysis showed that MiLFY expression was correlated with floral development stage, and two relative expression peaks were detected in the early stages of floral transition and floral organ differentiation. Moreover, 35S::GFP-MiLFY fusion protein was shown to be localized to the nucleus of cells. Overexpression of MiLFY in Arabidopsis promoted early flowering and the conversion of lateral meristems into terminal flowers. In addition, transgenic plants exhibited obvious morphological changes, such as differences in cauline leaf shape, and the number of lateral branches. When driven by the MiLFY promoter, GFP was highly expressed in leaves, floral organs, stems, and roots, during the flowering period. Exogenous gibberellin (GA3) treatment downregulated MiLFY promoter expression, but paclobutrazol (PPP333) upregulated it. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that the MiLFY protein can interact with zinc-finger protein 4 (ZFP4) and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (MiSOC1D). Taken together, these results indicate that MiLFY plays a pivotal role in controlling mango flowering, and that it is regulated by gibberellin and paclobutrazol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONSTANS (CO) is an important regulator of photoperiodic flowering and functions at a key position in the flowering regulatory network. Here, two CO homologs, MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B, were isolated from "SiJiMi" mango to elucidate the mechanisms controlling mango flowering. The MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B genes were highly expressed in the leaves and expressed at low levels in the buds and flowers. The expression levels of MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B increased during the flowering induction period but decreased during the flower organ development and flowering periods. The MiCOL16A gene was expressed in accordance with the circadian rhythm, and MiCOL16B expression was affected by diurnal variation, albeit not regularly. Both the MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B proteins were localized in the nucleus of cells and exerted transcriptional activity through their MR domains in yeast. Overexpression of both the MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B genes significantly repressed flowering in Arabidopsis under short-day (SD) and long-day (LD) conditions because they repressed the expression of AtFT and AtSOC1. This research also revealed that overexpression of MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B improved the salt and drought tolerance of Arabidopsis, conferring longer roots and higher survival rates to overexpression lines under drought and salt stress. Together, our results demonstrated that MiCOL16A and MiCOL16B not only regulate flowering but also play a role in the abiotic stress response in mango. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CONSTANS-LIKE1 (COL1) gene plays an important role in the regulation of photoperiodic flowering in plants. In this study, two COL1 homolog genes, MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B, were isolated from mango (Mangifera indica L.). The open reading frames of MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B are 852 and 822 bp in length and encode 284 and 274 amino acids, respectively. The MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B proteins contain only one CCT domain and belong to the CO/COL group IV protein family. MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B were expressed both in vegetative and reproductive organs but with expression level differences. MiCOL1A was highly expressed in juvenile and adult leaves, but MiCOL1B was highly expressed in flowers. Seasonal expression analysis showed that MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B have similar expression patterns and higher expression levels during flower induction and flower organ differentiation periods. However, MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B exhibited unstable patterns in circadian expression analysis. MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B were localized in the nucleus and had transcriptional activation activity in yeast. Overexpression of MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B resulted in significantly delayed flowering time in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, we also found that overexpression of MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B enhanced drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. The results demonstrated that MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B are not only involved in flowering regulation but also play a role in the stress response of plants. • Two MiCOL1 genes MiCOL1A and MiCOL1B were isolated from mango. • MiCOL1A was mainly expressed in juvenile and adult leaves, MiCOL1B in flowers. • MiCOL1 proteins are localized in the nucleus and have transcriptional activity. • Overexpression of MiCOL1 in Arabidopsis led to delayed flowering. • Overexpression of MiCOL1 in Arabidopsis led to stronger tolerance to drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) belongs to the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family, which is involved in inflorescence meristem development and represses flowering in several plant species. In the present study, four TFL1 genes were cloned from the mango (Mangifera indica L.) variety 'SiJiMi' and named MiTFL1-1, MiTFL1-2, MiTFL1-3 and MiTFL1-4. Results: Sequence analysis showed that the encoded MiTFL1 proteins contained a conserved PEBP domain and belonged to the TFL1 group. Expression analysis showed that the MiTFL1 genes were expressed in not only vegetative organs but also reproductive organs and that the expression levels were related to floral development. Overexpression of the four MiTFL1 genes delayed flowering in transgenic Arabidopsis. Additionally, MiTFL1-1 and MiTFL1-3 changed the flower morphology in some transgenic plants. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) analysis showed that several stress-related proteins interacted with MiTFL1 proteins. Conclusions: The four MiTFL1 genes exhibited a similar expression pattern, and overexpression in Arabidopsis resulted in delayed flowering. Additionally, MiTFL1-1 and MiTFL1-3 overexpression affected floral organ development. Furthermore, the MiTFL1 proteins could interact with bHLH and 14-3-3 proteins. These results indicate that the MiTFL1 genes may play an important role in the flowering process in mango. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ten MiPR1 genes were first identified in mango. • MiPR1 family genes had different expression patterns under salt, drought stress and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. • Overexpression of MiPR1A in Arabidopsis improved plant resistance to salt stress and drought stress. • Overexpression of MiPR1A in Arabidopsis improved plant resistance to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides stress. Pathogen-related protein 1 (PR1) is an essential component of plant defense mechanisms against a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. However, knowledge of PR1 in mango (Mangifera indica L), one of the most important horticultural crops, is limited. In the present study, a total of 10 PR1 family members were first discovered by bioinformatics analysis of the mango genome. Chromosomal mapping revealed that the MiPR1 genes were unevenly distributed on the five chromosomes of mango. The conserved domain and genetic structure analysis showed that all ten MiPR1 genes have a conserved CAP domain and intron-free. Cis element analysis indicated that several stress response elements were found in these promoters. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the MiPR1 genes have differences in expression patterns among the organs and under low temperature, polyethylene glycol (PEG), sodium chloride (NaCl) and anthracnose treatments. Furthermore, MiPR1A was selected for further functional analysis. Overexpression of MiPR1A increased salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis , superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and proline content were significantly upregulated and malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly downregulated in transgenic Arabidopsis compared with control lines. In addition, MiPR1A enhanced resistance to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Taken together, these findings provide insight into the potential functional roles of the MiPR1A gene in biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in mango. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Mango eIFs were firstly identified and conducted phylogenetic analysis. • 18 MieIF genes were closely associated with salinity, osmotic, and cold stress. • Overexpression MieIF1A-a in transgenic plants enhanced salt tolerance. Abstract Eukaryotic translation initiation factors (eIFs) function as important regulatory factors in protein synthesis and play crucial roles in the response to abiotic stress in plants. However, the eIF gene family and its biological functions have not been studied in mango (Mangifera indica L.). In this study, 18 eIF genes were identified from mango transcriptome data and subjected to phylogenetic analysis, which indicated that the 67 eIF proteins from mango, Arabidopsis , Oryza sativa, and Citrus clementina clustered into three major groups. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR analysis demonstrated that the expression of most of the 18 MieIF genes were closely associated with abiotic stress, and MieIF1A-a , MieIF5, and MieIF3sB were most strongly expressed under salinity, osmotic, and low temperature (2°C) stress, respectively. Transgenic analysis indicated that the overexpression of MieIF1A-a in Arabidopsis resulted in enhanced seedling growth and survival rates, higher chlorophyll content, increased superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activities, and decreased malondialdehyde accumulation under salt treatment compared to the wild-type Arabidopsis. Our findings revealed that MieIF genes are associated with abiotic stress in mango, and MieIF1A-a can enhance the salt tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis through increasing antioxidant enzyme activities. This study provides new insights into the MieIF genes that could be applied to the breeding of stress-resistant mango varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONSTANS (CO) is the key gene in the photoperiodic pathway that regulates flowering in plants. In this paper, a CONSTANS-like 14A (COL14A) gene was obtained from mango, and its expression patterns and functions were characterized. Sequence analysis shows that MiCOL14A-JH has an additional A base, which leads to code shifting in subsequent coding boxes and loss of the CCT domain. The MiCOL14A-JH and MiCOL14A-GQ genes both belonged to group Ⅲ of the CO / COL gene family. Analysis of tissue expression patterns showed that MiCOL14A was expressed in all tissues, with the highest expression in the leaves of seedling, followed by lower expression levels in the flowers and stems of adult leaves. However, there was no significant difference between different mango varieties. At different development stages of flowering, the expression level of MiCOL14A-GQ was the highest in the leaves before floral induction period, and the lowest at flowering stage, while the highest expression level of MiCOL14A-JH appeared in the leaves at flowering stage. The transgenic functional analysis showed that both MiCOL14A-GQ and MiCOL14A-JH induced delayed flowering of transgenic Arabidopsis. In addition, MiCOL14A-JH enhanced the resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis to drought stress, while MiCOL14A-GQ increased the sensitivity of transgenic Arabidopsis to salt stress. Further protein protein interaction analysis showed that MiCOL14A-JH directly interacted with MYB30-INTERACTING E3 LIGASE 1 (MiMIEL1), CBL-interacting protein kinase 9 (MiCIPK9) and zinc-finger protein 4 (MiZFP4), but MiCOL14A-GQ could not interact with these three stress-related proteins. Together, our results demonstrated that MiCOL14A-JH and MiCOL14A-GQ not only regulate flowering but also play a role in the abiotic stress response in mango, and the lack of the CCT domain affects the protein protein interaction, thus affecting the gene response to stress. The insertion of an A base can provide a possible detection site for mango resistance breeding. • An A base inserted into the coding region of MiCOL14A-JH , resulted in loss of the CCT domain missing. • Overexpression of MiCOL14A in Arabidopsis resulted in late flowering. • Overexpression of MiCOL14A-GQ decreased the salt stress tolerance. • Overexpression of MiCOL14A-JH enhanced the drought stress tolerance. • MiCOL14A-JH interact with MiMIEL1, MiCIPK9 and MiZFP4 Proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CO/COL gene family plays an important role in regulating photoperiod-dependent flowering time in plants. In this study, two COL2 gene homologs, MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B, were isolated from 'SiJiMi' mango, and their expression patterns and functions were characterized. The MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B genes both belonged to the group Ⅰ of CO/COL gene family. MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B exhibited distinct circadian rhythms and were highly expressed in leaves during the flowering induction period. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B are localized in the nucleus. The overexpression of MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B significantly delayed flowering time in Arabidopsis under both long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) conditions. The MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B overexpression Arabidopsis plants exhibited more tolerance to slat and drought stress after abiotic stress treatments, with greater ROS scavenging capacity and protective enzyme activity, less cell damage and death and higher expression of stress response genes than wild type plants. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis showed that MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B interacted with several stress-related proteins, including zinc finger protein 4 (MiZFP4), MYB30-INTERACTING E3 LIGASE 1 (MiMIEL1) and RING zinc finger protein 34 (MiRZFP34). The results indicate that MiCOL2A and MiCOL2B are not only involved in flowering time but also play a positive role in abiotic stress responses in plants. • Two CONSTANS-like 2 genes were cloned from mango. • The expression patterns of the CONSTANS-like 2 genes were analysed in mango. • Overexpression of two CONSTANS-like 2 in Arabidopsis resulted in delayed flowering. • Overexpression of two CONSTANS-like 2 enhanced the salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Rab family, the largest branch of Ras small GTPases, plays a crucial role in the vesicular transport in plants. The members of Rab family act as molecular switches that regulate the fusion of vesicles with target membranes through conformational changes. However, little is known about the Rab5 gene involved in fruit ripening and stress response. In this study, the MiRab5 gene was isolated from stress-induced Mangifera indica. The full-length cDNA sequence was 984bp and contained an open reading frame of 600bp, which encoded a 200 amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 21.83kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 6.99. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited high homology with tomato (91% similarity) and contains all five characteristic Rab motifs. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that MiRab5 was ubiquitously expressed in various mango tree tissues at different levels. The expression of MiRab5 was up-regulated during later stages of fruit ripening. Moreover, MiRab5 was generally up-regulated in response to various abiotic stresses (cold, salinity, and PEG treatments). Recombinant MiRab5 protein was successfully expressed and purified. SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis indicated that the expressed protein was recognized by the anti-6-His antibody. These results provide insights into the role of the MiRab5 gene family in fruit ripening and stress responses in the mango plant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Members of the Mi14-3-3 gene family interact with target proteins that are widely involved in plant hormone signal transduction and physiology-related metabolism and play important roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. In this study, 14-3-3s family members are identified by the bioinformatic analysis of the mango (Mangifera indica L.) genome. The gene structures, chromosomal distributions, genetic evolution, and expression patterns of these genes and the physical and chemical properties and conserved motifs of their proteins are analysed systematically. The results identified 16 members of the 14-3-3 genes family in the mango genome. The members were not evenly distributed across the chromosomes, and the gene structure analysis showed that the gene sequence length and intron number varied greatly among the different members. Protein sequence analysis showed that the Mi14-3-3 proteins had similar physical and chemical properties and secondary and tertiary structures, and protein subcellular localization showed that the Mi14-3-3 family proteins were localized to the nucleus. The sequence analysis of the Mi14-3-3s showed that all Mi14-3-3 proteins contain a typical conserved PFAM00244 domain, and promoter sequence analysis showed that the Mi14-3-3 promoters contain multiple hormone-, stress-, and light-responsive cis-regulatory elements. Expression analysis showed that the 14-3-3 genes were expressed in all tissues of mango, but that their expression patterns were different. Drought, salt and low temperature stresses affected the expression levels of 14-3-3 genes, and different 14-3-3 genes had different responses to these stresses. This study provides a reference for further studies on the function and regulation of Mi14-3-3 family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two molecular marker systems, SCoT and ISSR were used for identification and genetic comparison analysis of 23 mango germplasm accessions collected within Guangxi province of China. Using 18 selected SCoT primers 158 bands were generated, of which 104 (65.82%) were polymorphic. Eighteen selected ISSR primers amplified 156 bands with 87 (55.77%) being polymorphic. The cultivars of Xiang Ya Mango type and their progeny have high genetic similarity with each other. The 23 cultivars were clustered into two major groups based on the SCoT analysis and three major groups based on the ISSR analysis with UPGMA. These clusters are in accordance with their known origins and main phenotypic characteristics. Our results indicated that the SCoT analysis better represents the actual relationships than ISSR analysis, although both analyses give similar results. The results also demonstrate that the SCoT marker system is useful for identification and genetic diversity analysis of mango cultivars. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) gene is a transcription factor that integrates flowering signals and plays an important role in the regulation of flowering time in many plants. In this study, two full-length cDNA sequences of SVP homologous genes—MiSVP1 and MiSVP2—were obtained from 'SiJiMi' mango. Sequence analysis showed that the MiSVPs had typical MADS-box domains and were highly conserved between each other. The analysis of expression patterns showed that the MiSVPs were expressed during flower development and highly expressed in vegetative tissues, with low expression in flowers/buds. The MiSVPs could responded to low temperature, NaCl, and PEG treatment. Subcellular localization revealed that MiSVP1 and MiSVP2 were localized in the nucleus. Transformation of Arabidopsis revealed that overexpression of MiSVP1 delayed flowering time, overexpression of MiSVP2 accelerated flowering time, and neither MiSVP1 nor MiSVP2 had an effect on the number of rosette leaves. Overexpression of MiSVP1 increased the expression of AtFLC and decreased the expression of AtFT and AtSOC1, and overexpression of MiSVP2 increased the expression levels of AtSOC1 and AtFT and decreased the expression levels of AtFLC. Point-to-point and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that MiSVP1 and MiSVP2 could interact with SEP1-1, SOC1D, and AP1-2. These results suggest that MiSVP1 and MiSVP2 may play a significant roles in the flowering process of mango. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two AP1 -like genes from mango were cloned. • Expression profiles in different tissues were examined. • Expression pattern was regulated by PBZ treatment. • Overexpression of MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 significantly resulted early flowering. • MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 transgenetic plants produced abnormal flower ogran. APETALA1 (AP1) encodes a key MADS-box transcription factor that plays a crucial role in the floral transition and floral organ development. Here we describe two AP1 homologues gene MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 from mango (Mangifera indica L.). The full-length MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 were 960 bp and 906 bp, respectively, including 741 bp and 744 bp open reading frame encoding 247 and 248 amino acids, respectively. MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 exhibited high expression levels in floral organs and low transcript levels in vegetative organs. MiAP1-1 was more highly expressed in leaves during the floral transition stage, while MiAP1-2 was more highly expressed in leaves during the floral transition stage, floral differentiation stage and inflorescence elongation stage. Overexpression of MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 in Arabidopsis resulted in significant early flowering, meanwhile MiAP1-2 in transgenic tobacco also promote early flowering. Ectopic expression of MiAP1-1 and MiAP1-2 causes different flower phenotypes. MiAP1-1 caused the side branch flower organs mutate, while MiAP1-2 produced terminal flowers in the main stem shoots and also in the side branch. Several floral integrator genes were upregulated in the overexpression transgenic plant lines. These observations indicated that the two MiAP1 homologue genes in mango functions in the floral transition and floral organ development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SQUAMOSA promoter-binding protein-like (SPL) family genes play an important role in regulating plant flowering and resistance to stress. However, understanding the function of the SPL family in mango is still limited. In a previous study, two MiSPL3 genes, MiSPL3a and MiSPL3b (MiSPL3a/b), were identified in 'SiJiMi' mango and exhibited the highest expression in flowers at the initial flowering stage [ 24 ]. Therefore, in this study, we further investigated the expression pattern and gene function of MiSPL3a/b. The results showed that the expression of MiSPL3a was greatest at the end of floral bud differentiation, and MiSPL3b was expressed mainly during the flowering induction and vegetative growth stages. Subcellular localization showed that MiSPL3a/b localized to the nucleus. In addition, ectopic expression of MiSPL3a/b promoted earlier flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana by 3 d-6 d than in wild-type (WT) plants, which increased the expression of SUPPRESSOR OF CONSTANS1 (AtSOC1), FRUITFULL (AtFUL), and APETALA1 (AtAP1). MiSPL3a/b transgenic lines exhibited increased tolerance to drought, GA 3 , and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments but were sensitive to Pro-Ca treatment. Furthermore, protein interaction analysis revealed that MiSPL3a/b could interact with several stress-related proteins, flowering-related proteins, and the bridge protein 14–3-3. Taken together, MiSPL3a and MiSPL3b acted as positive regulators of flowering time and stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) is a key integrator of environmental signals and internal cues and plays a central role in the photoperiod response mechanism in Arabidopsis. However, the function of FTs in Mangifera indica L. is unknown. In this study, we identified three MiFTs genes from mango and characterized their role in flowering regulation. The open reading frames of MiFT1 , MiFT2 , and MiFT3 are 540, 516, and 588 bp in length and encode 180, 172, and 196 amino acids, respectively; the genes belong to the PEBP family. MiFTs share the conserved exon/intron structure of FTs. The nucleotide sequence of MiFT1 is 90% identical to that of MiFT2 and 82% identical to that of MiFT3 ; MiFT2 and MiFT3 share 81% homology with each other. According to expression analysis, MiFTs were detected at different expression levels in all tested tissues. The expression levels of the three MiFTs were significantly different in leaves during flower development, and MiFT1 expression increased sharply in leaves and was significantly higher than that of the other two MiFTs during flower bud development. All three MiFTs showed daily cycles. Ectopic expression of the three MiFTs in transgenic Arabidopsis resulted in an earlier flowering genotype under long-day conditions, and MiFT1 had the strongest effect in promoting flowering. Additionally, overexpression of three MiFTs in Arabidopsis upregulated the expression levels of several flowering-related genes. Our results suggest that the three MiFTs have positive roles in promoting flowering and suggest that MiFT1 may acts as a key regulator in the flowering pathway. • 1, Three MiFTs genes MiFT1 , MiFT2 , and MiFT3 were cloned from mango. • 2, MiFT1 was highly expressed in adult leaves, MiFT2 in adult stems and MiFT3 in adult leaves and flowers. • 3, Expression profiles of MiFTs were regulated by diurnal rhythm. • 4, Overexpression of three MiFTs in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering. • 5, MiFT1 may encode a florigen that acts as a key regulator in the mango flowering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 1, Two MiGF6s (14-3-3) genes were obtained from mango. • 2, Overexpression of MiGF6A and MiGF6B in A. thaliana promoted earlier flowering. • 3, MiGF6A and MiGF6B could interact with MiFD1, MiFD2 and MiSVP3 proteins. 14-3-3 genes are universal regulators that play important roles in regulating flower development and stress responses. In this study, two homologous 14-3-3 genes, MiGF6A and MiGF6B , were obtained from the genome of SiJiMi mango. Sequence analysis showed that both MiGF6A and MiGF6B have a fully conserved 14-3-3 superfamily domain. MiGF6A and MiGF6B were expressed in tissues at all stages of development, especially in the flowers and buds. Both MiGF6A and MiGF6B were expressed in response to low temperature, NaCl and polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatments. Subcellular localization analysis showed that MiGF6A and MiGF6B were located in the nucleus. Overexpression of MiGF6A and MiGF6B in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in an early-flowering phenotype and significant upregulation of the flowering-related genes FLOWERING LOCUS T (AtFT), AtFD1 , and LEAFY (AtLFY). Yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analyses showed that MiGF6A and MiGF6B interact with the MiFD1, MiFD2 and MiSVP3 proteins. These results suggest that MiGF6A and MiGF6B may play positive roles in the mango flowering process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flowering promoting factor (FPF) genes play a substantial regulatory role in the process of flowering. In the present study, four MiFPF genes, namely, MiFPF1 , MiFPF2 , MiFPF3a , and MiFPF3b , were obtained from mango (Mangifera indica L.). Tissue expression analysis showed that MiFPFs were expressed in all mango tissues. Specifically, MiFPF1 and MiFPF2 were highly expressed in leaves, while MiFPF3a and MiFPF3b were highly expressed in flowers and buds. The four MiFPF proteins localize to the nucleus. Overexpression of MiFPFs in transgenic Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering and upregulated the expression of APETAL1 (AP1), FLOWERING LOCUS D (FD) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT). MiFPF genes increased the root growth of transgenic Arabidopsis plants under gibberellin treatment. BiFC assays showed that MiFPFs can interact with several DELLA proteins. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the MiFPF gene was involved not only in promoting flowering but also in increasing root growth under gibberellin (GA 3) treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A MiRZFP34 gene was isolated from mango. • Overexpression of MiRZFP34 resulted early flowering in Arabidopsis. • Overexpression of MiRZFP34 improved resistance to drought and low temperatures in Arabidopsis. • MiRZFP34 interacted with MiAP1-1, MiAP1-2, and MiCAL2 protein. The RING zinc finger protein (RZFP) gene plays an important role in the response to stress in plants. In this study, full-length cDNA sequences of the RZFP homologous gene MiRZFP34 were obtained from mango. The open reading frame of MiRZFP34 is 858 bp in length and encodes 285 amino acids. Sequence analysis showed that MiRZFP34 had typical CHY zinc finger and RING-finger domains. Expression analysis showed that MiRZFP34 was highly expressed in flowers but was expressed at relatively low levels in juvenile tissues. Drought and low temperature treatment significantly upregulated the expression of MiRZFP34 in leaves. Transformation of Arabidopsis revealed that overexpression of MiRZFP34 promoted early flowering and significantly upregulated the expression levels of the flowering-related genes APETALA1 (AtAP1) , FLOWERING LOCUS T (AtFT), and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CO1 (AtSOC1) in transgenic lines than WT plants. In addition, MiRZFP34 -overexpressing lines showed resistance to drought and low temperature stress, which was accompanied by a higher expression of drought and low temperature responsive genes in these lines. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that MiRZFP34 protein can interact with MiAP1-1, MiAP1-2, and MiCAL2. These results were the first to show that MiRZFP34 was involved in both flowering regulation and abiotic stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two MiCAL genes MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 were cloned from mango. • Overexpression of two MiCALs in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering. • Overexpression of MiCAL1 led to terminal inflorescence, while MiCAL2 led to abnormal floral organ. • MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 can interacted with SEP1, SVP1, SVP2, SOC1G and Di19-4 protein. APETALA1 (AP1), CAULIFLOWER (CAL) and FRUITFULL (FUL) were homologous genes with redundant functions in the process of flower transformation and floral development in Arabidopsis. Two CALs genes, MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 , were cloned from mango (Mangifera indica L.). Their full-length sequences contained 717 bp and 714 bp, encoding 239 and 238 amino acids, respectively. Both the MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 proteins contained typical MADS-box and K-box domains and therefore belonged to the CAL-like protein family. MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 were expressed in all tissues at the inflorescence elongation stage and flowering stage, with the highest expression in the leaves at the flowering stage. They had similar expression patterns during flower development, with the highest expression levels in leaves during flower differentiation and the lowest expression levels during fruit development. Overexpression of MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 resulted in significantly earlier flowering in Arabidopsis. Overexpression of MiCAL1 resulted in terminal flowers with normal flower organs, while overexpression of MiCAL2 induced partially variation in floral organs but had no effect on inflorescences. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiments showed that MiCAL1 and MiCAL2 can interact with several flower-related proteins as well as stress response proteins, such as SEP1, SVP1, SVP2, SOC1G and Di19-4. These results suggest that these two MiCALs genes may have an important influence on mango flowering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The MFT gene in mango was identified and characterized. • The expression patterns of the MFT gene were analysed in mango. • Overexpression of MiMFT inhibited seed germination. • Overexpression of MiMFT enhanced the abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Mother of FT and TFL1 (MFT) is a member of the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family, which plays important roles in seed development, the stress response, and flowering time regulation. In the present study, the MFT homologous gene MiMFT was identified in mango cultivar 'SiJiMi'. The promoter of MiMFT contained phytohormone-, plant growth-, plant development-, and abiotic stress-responsive elements. MiMFT was significantly highly expressed in the seeds, and its expression strongly increased in response to polyethylene glycol (PEG) and NaCl treatment. Overexpression of MiMFT in Arabidopsis adversely affected seed germination and upregulated seed germination-related gene expression, but it did not affect flowering. Additionally, the salt and drought tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis lines overexpressing MiMFT considerably increased, and these plants presented decreased sensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA), with significantly increased expression of stress-related and ABA signaling pathway genes. Subcellular localization analysis showed that MiMFT strongly localizes in the nucleus, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that MiMFT proteins interact with Mi14–3–3D2. In summary, MiMFT was determined to be involved in seed germination as well as in the response to abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 26 MiSPLs genes family were identified by bioinformatics analysis. • Overexpression of MiSPL13 in A. thaliana promoted early flowering. • Overexpression of MiSPL13 enhanced ABA, GA 3 and drought tolerance, but showing sensitivity to Pro-Ca treatment. SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein-like (SPL) genes played important roles during plant growth and development. However, there have been no studies on SPL genes in mango (Mangifera indica L.). In the present study, a total of 26 SPL family members were first identified and analysed in the 'SiJiMi' mango genome, and these genes were classified into nine subfamilies (G1 - G9) according to conserved gene structures and protein motifs. Expression analysis revealed that the MiSPL genes were expressed in all the tested organs, albeit with expression level differences. Fifteen of them exhibited the highest expression in flowers at the initial flowering stage. Furthermore, most of the MiSPLs were expressed in response to exogenous gibberellin (GA 3) and prohexadione-calcium (Pro-Ca) treatments. MiSPL13 was primarily expressed in flowers and significantly upregulated in buds under GA 3 and Pro-Ca treatments on the 2nd and 6th days, respectively. The full length cDNA sequence of MiSPL13 was 1116 bp, encoding 372 amino acids. MiSPL13 was located in the nucleus and had transcriptional activation activity in yeast. Overexpression of MiSPL13 not only promoted early flowering in transgenic Arabidopsis, which increased the expression levels of AtAP1, AtSOC1 , and AtFUL , but also significantly increased tolerance to drought, abscisic acid (ABA) and GA 3 while showing sensitivity to Pro-Ca treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ISSR, SRAP, CBDP and CEAP markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of mango. • Combined use multiple molecular markers is more accurate for genetic relationship analysis. • Nine mango seedlings were found the potential parents or sister lines. • CEAP marker was better than other markers for genetic diversity study. Forty-eight mango accessions were compared for genetic diversity and relationships based on four molecular marker assays, namely, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR), sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP), CAAT-box derived polymorphism (CBDP), and cis-element amplified polymorphism (CEAP). Comparative analyses of the marker assays based on Nei's genetic diversity (H), Shannon's information index (I), polymorphism information content (PIC), the marker index (MI), and resolving power (Rp) revealed that (i) the CEAP markers provided the most information according to the PIC, MI and Rp values; (ii) the CBDP and ISSR markers exhibited valuable information according to the H and I values. The correlation values (r) of the Mantel test ranged from 0.334 (ISSR and CEAP) to 0.819 (CEAP and the combination of the four marker assays). The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster results showed that a single-marker assay can accurately reflect the genetic relationships of some mango samples but cannot accurately reflect the genetic relationships of all mango samples and that when multiple markers are used to evaluate the genetic relationships of mango germplasm resources, the results are more accurate than those of a single-marker assay. The combined cluster analysis of the molecular marker types shows higher discrimination according to genetic relationships. Nine mango accessions were suggested to be likely parental or sister lines based on the combination of the ISSR, SRAP, CBDP, and CEAP marker assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]