Identification of the Histone Acetyltransferase Gene Family in Artemisia Annua Genome

Abstract

Histone acetylation/deacetylation represents an essential process in the epigenetic regulation of diverse biological processes. Acetyl groups are deposited by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and removed by histone deacetylases (HDACs). HAT activity act as important roles for chromatin modification in eukaryotic, which modulats mRNA trascription and thereby regulates plant environmental adaptive. Comprehensive analyses of HATs have been performed in many plants, but systematacial identification lags behind in medical plants. As the most effective therapeutic drug for malaria, artemisinin can only be extracted from Artemisia annua L., which is sensitive to surrouding growing habitat. Thus, chracterizition of HAT gene families in A. annua have provided an opportunity to study epigentic regulators’ enironmental adaptation. Herein, we identified 11 AaHATs and characterized these genes into four classes in accord with conserved protein structures. And then, accord to phylogenetic analyzed results, potential functions of HAT genes were found among Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa and Artemisia annua. In our result, AaHAT itself has high conservatism of evolution and at the same it is rich in high variable region, which became the comparatively ideal object of medical plants identification and systematics study. What’s more, motifs commonly existing in histone acetyltransferases in A. annua genome may are probably associated with the conserved functions AaHATs, whereas those specific to a few AaHATs seem to be related to gene-specific functions.It appeared to be that AaHATs were regulated by cis-element and AaHATs may have affected phytohormone responsiveness, adaptability to stress, and developmental growth. Collectively, it was provided that a set of AaHAT genes that act as poteintial roles in the herb response to dynamic enviorment.

Keywords: Histone acetyltransferases, Artemisia annua, gene family, Epigenetics, Medical plant