Evolution and diversity of grapevine COP1 homologs

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is a versatile organism and a key worldwide crop. One well-studied aspect of grapevine biology concernsthe important agricultural trait of fruit color variation. In grapevine, the modulation of the berry color trait has been amply associated with the role of specific MYB transcription factors, yet the importance of upstream regulatory elements has been understudied. Here, weinitiated a Pool-Seq genomics strategy to screen for additional genes associated with berry color variation. Our analysis highlighted a tentative role for CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1 (COP1) homologs in grapevine, prompting further examination of COP1 in this crop. The phylogenies performed within the present study confirmed SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA-105 (SPAs) and REPRESSOR OFUV-B PHOTOMORPHOGENESIS (RUPs) as the WD40-repeat domain proteins most closely related to COP1 proteins. Notably, our results traced the emergence of SPAproteins to more basal species than previously reported, and suggested that the evolution of SPAand RUP proteins was not a parallel event. We annotated COP1, SPA, and RUP genes in grapevine, which were surveyed from an evolutionaryand topological perspective. Apossible sub-functionalization of the grapevine COP1 paralogs (VvCOP1a and VvCOP1b) is suggestedthrough gene expression analysis across grapevine tissue and berry development.

Acknowledgements

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT/MCTES) for project GrapeVision [PTDC/BIA-FBT/2389/2020]; BIOPOLIS 2024 European Teaming [WIDESPREAD-01-2018-2019-857251BIOPOLIS] for project GrapeGen (Agenomics study on domestication and adaptive introgression in grapevine).