Open Access

ARTICLE

Cloning, Characterization and Transformation of Methyltransferase 2a Gene (Zmet2a) in Maize (Zea mays L.)

Xin Qi^1,#, Yu Wang^1,#, Xing Zhang¹, Xiaoshuang Wei¹, Xinyang Liu¹, Zhennan Wang¹, Zhenhui Wang^1,*, Fenglou Ling^2,*

1 Faculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China
2 Rice Research Center, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China

* Corresponding Authors: Zhenhui Wang. Email: ; Fenglou Ling. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2024, 93(7), 1767-1779. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2024.052844

Received 17 April 2024; Accepted 17 June 2024; Issue published 30 July 2024

Abstract

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic regulatory mechanism, it regulates gene expression by recruiting proteins involved in gene repression or by inhibiting the binding of transcription factor(s) to DNA. In this study, a novel methyltransferase 2a gene (Zmet2a) was cloned in maize and identified by polymerase chain reaction-base (PCR-base) using a bioinformatics strategy. The Zmet2a cDNA sequence is 2739 bp long and translates to 912 amino acid peptides. The Zmet2a protein revealed that it contains BAH and CHROMO structural domains, is a non-transmembrane protein that is hydrophilically unstable, and has no signal peptide structure. Meanwhile, we verified the biological roles of Zmet2a using transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing Zmet2a and Zmet2a-knockout maize. Transgenic Zmet2a Arabidopsis thaliana showed highly significant advancement in flowering time, and Zmet2a-knockout maize showed advancement in flowering time, with significant changes in several traits. Altogether, these report the role of Zmet2a in the regulation of flowering time, which will lay a foundation for revealing the biological function and epigenetic regulation mechanism of Zmet2a in the growth, development and flowering of maize.

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Keywords

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Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

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