Genome-wide analysis of BURP domain-containing genes in Populus trichocarpa

BURP domain-containing proteins have a conserved structure and are found extensively in plants. The functions of the proteins in this family are diverse, but remain unknown in Populus trichocarpa. In the present study, a complete genome of P. trichocarpa was analyzed bioinformatically. A total of 18 BURP family genes, named PtBURPs, were identified and characterized according to their physical positions on the P. trichocarpa chromosomes. A phylogenetic tree was generated from alignments of PtBURP protein sequences, while phylogenetic relationships were also examined between PtBURPs and BURP family genes in other plants, including rice, soybean, maize and sorghum. BURP genes in P. trichocarpa were classified into five classes, namely PG1β-like, BNM2-like, USP-like, RD22-like and BURP V. The multiple expectation maximization for motif elicitation (MEME) and multiple protein sequence alignments of PtBURPs were also performed. Results from the transcript level analyses of 10 PtBURP genes under different stress conditions revealed the expression patterns in poplar and led to a discussion on genome duplication and evolution, expression profiles and function of PtBURP genes.