Publications by authors named "Hongxia Miao"

Article Synopsis
  • Alpha-amylase (AMY) is crucial for the growth and quality of starchy bananas, but its comprehensive features and functions are not well understood.
  • Twelve MaAMY proteins were identified in bananas, showing evolutionary relationships with similar proteins in maize and rice, along with evidence of gene duplication.
  • The research indicates that certain MaAMY genes are highly active during banana fruit development and ripening, influencing starch content significantly.
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Banana is a typical starch conversion fruit. The high content of starch at harvest is quickly digested and converted to soluble sugars during the postharvest ripening process, ultimately contributing to fruit flavor. This process is regulated in a complex manner by genes and environmental factors.

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WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play an important role in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress as well as in plant growth and development. In the present study, bioinformatics methods were used to identify members of the WRKY transcription factor family in the (DH-Pahang) genome (version 2). A total of 164 were identified and phylogenetic analysis showed that MaWRKYs could be categorized into three subfamilies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Bananas are important for studying starch conversion and ripening because both processes happen together and involve ethylene production.
  • Researchers transformed red banana plants to investigate the MaMADS36 transcription factor, which interacts with 74 proteins and may regulate key processes like starch degradation and sugar accumulation.
  • The study found that MaMADS36 enhances the transcription of a specific gene, MaBAM9b, that is crucial for starch breakdown, providing insights for improving fruit shelf-life through breeding programs.
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Plant-specific TEOSINTE-BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR1 (TCP) gene family has versatile functions in diverse aspects of plants. However, less research on banana TCPs was done comprehensively. Accordingly, 48 banana TCP genes were characterized on aspects of gene structure, conserved motifs, phylogenetic relationship, and expression patterns.

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Starch branching enzyme (SBE) has rarely been studied in common starchy banana fruits. For the first time, we report here the molecular characterization of seven () and six () genes in the banana A- and B-genomes, respectively, which could be classified into three distinct subfamilies according to genome-wide identification. Systematic transcriptomic analysis revealed that six s and six s were expressed in the developing banana fruits of two different genotypes, BaXi Jiao (BX, AAA) and Fen Jiao (FJ, AAB), among which and were highly expressed.

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The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins are a superfamily of transcription factors (TFs) that can bind to specific DNA target sites, playing a central role in a wide range of metabolic, physiological, and developmental processes in higher organisms. However, no systemic analysis of bHLH TFs has been reported in banana, a typical climacteric fruit in tropical and subtropical regions. In our study, 259 MabHLH TF genes were identified in the genome of (A genome), and phylogenetic analysis indicated that these MabHLHs could be classified into 23 subfamilies with the bHLHs from rice and .

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Ovate Family Proteins (OFPs) belong to a plant-specific transcription factor family. They have been found to have significant roles in growth and development in Arabidopsis and tomato; however, little is known regarding their role in banana. Thus, a genome-wide study of OFP genes in banana was conducted for the first time in the present study.

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Aquaporins (AQPs) transport water and other small molecules; however, their precise role in abiotic stress responses is not fully understood. In this study, we cloned and characterized the PIP2 group AQP gene, MaPIP2-7, in banana. MaPIP2-7 expression was upregulated after osmotic (mannitol), cold, and salt treatments.

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Banana cultivars (Musa ssp.) are diploid, triploid and tetraploid hybrids derived from Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. We presented a high-quality draft genome assembly of M.

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Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) play vital roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and tolerance to various abiotic stresses. However, little information is available for this gene family in banana. In this study, 44 CDPKs were identified in banana and were classified into four groups based on phylogenetic, gene structure, and conserved motif analyses.

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Rho-like GTPases from plants (ROPs) are plant-specific molecular switches that are crucial for plant survival when subjected to abiotic stress. We identified and characterized 17 novel ROP proteins from (MaROPs) using genomic techniques. The identified MaROPs fell into three of the four previously described ROP groups (Groups II⁻IV), with MaROPs in each group having similar genetic structures and conserved motifs.

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Drought and salt stresses often affect plant growth and crop yields. Identification of promoters involved in drought and salt stress responses is of great significance for genetic improvement of crop resistance. Our previous studies showed that aquaporin can respond to drought and salt stresses, but its promoter has not yet been reported in plants.

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The ovate mutation has frequently been used to study changes in fruit shape but not fruit quality. A deterioration in fruit quality associated with the ovate mutation was discovered in this study. To elucidate how ovate influences the quality of fruit, we performed a proteomics analysis of the fruits of the ovate mutant (LA3543) and wild-type ("Ailsa Craig", LA2838A) using tandem mass tag analysis.

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Fruit ripening and quality are common botanical phenomena that are closely linked and strictly regulated by transcription factors. It was previously discovered that a banana MADS-box protein named MuMADS1 interacted with an ovate family protein named MaOFP1 to regulate banana fruit ripening. To further investigate the role of MuMADS1 and MaOFP1 in the regulation of fruit quality, a combination of genetic transformation and transcriptional characterization was used.

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Background: Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling plays a crucial role in developmental and environmental adaptation processes of plants. However, the PYL-PP2C-SnRK2 families that function as the core components of ABA signaling are not well understood in banana.

Results: In the present study, 24 PYL, 87 PP2C, and 11 SnRK2 genes were identified from banana, which was further supported by evolutionary relationships, conserved motif and gene structure analyses.

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ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) is the first rate-limiting enzyme in starch biosynthesis and plays crucial roles in multiple biological processes. Despite its importance, AGPase is poorly studied in starchy fruit crop banana ( L.).

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Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporters (SWEET) are a novel type of sugar transporter that plays crucial roles in multiple biological processes. From banana, for the first time, 25 SWEET genes which could be classified into four subfamilies were identified. Majority of MaSWEETs in each subfamily shared similar gene structures and conserved motifs.

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Proteins encoded by MADS-box genes are important transcription factors involved in the regulation of flowering plant growth and development. Currently, no systematic information exists regarding the MADS-box family in the important tropical fruit banana. Ninety-six MADS-box genes were identified from the banana (Pahang) A genome.

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Soluble starch synthase (SS) is one of the key enzymes involved in amylopectin biosynthesis in plants. However, no information is currently available about this gene family in the important fruit crop banana. Herein, we characterized the function of MaSSIII-1 in amylopectin metabolism of banana fruit and described the putative role of the other MaSS family members.

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Infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may be correlated to the onset of acute leukemia (AL). Studies were performed to investigate the relationship between EBV infection and immunophenotyping of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chromosome aberrations. Additionally, the effects of EBV on clinical prognosis were described.

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The abscisic acid (ABA)-, stress-, and ripening-induced (ASR) protein is a plant-specific hydrophilic transcriptional factor involved in fruit ripening and the abiotic stress response. To date, there have been no studies on the role of ASR genes in delayed flowering time. Here, we found that the ASR from banana, designated as MaASR, was preferentially expressed in the banana female flowers from the eighth, fourth, and first cluster of the inflorescence.

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Plant S-phase kinase-associated protein 1 (SKP1) genes play crucial roles in plant development and differentiation. However, the role of SKP1 in citrus is unclear. Herein, we described a novel SKP1-like gene, designated as CrWSKP1, from "Wuzishatangju" (Citrus reticulata Blanco).

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Aquaporins (AQPs) function to selectively control the flow of water and other small molecules through biological membranes, playing crucial roles in various biological processes. However, little information is available on the AQP gene family in bananas. In this study, we identified 47 banana AQP genes based on the banana genome sequence.

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MADS-box transcription factors play important roles in organ development. In plants, most studies on MADS-box genes have mainly focused on flower development and only a few concerned fruit development and ripening. A new MADS-box gene named MaMADS7 was isolated from banana fruit by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) based on a MADS-box fragment obtained from a banana suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library.

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