Evolution and diversification of CaM/CML gene family in green plants

Calmodulin (CaM) and calmodulin-like (CML) proteins are crucial Ca²⁺ sensors, which are widely involved in different biological processes of plants, including their growth and development, and stress responses. However, the origin and evolution of the CaM/CML gene family in plants remain elusive. In this study, 2133 CaM and 23094 CML genes were identified from the 1000 plants project (1 KP) species and the sequenced plants, covering algae, mosses, monilophytes, lycophytes, flowering plants, and all other green plant branches. Analysis showed that the size of the CML subfamily was correlated with the genome size of corresponding plant species, as well as the total gene number in the genome. Moreover, with the evolution from algae to angiosperms, the number of CML genes in plants increased gradually which could have been driven mainly by genome-wide segmental duplication events, while the number of CaMs remained basically stable at 2-3. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that CaM first appeared in green algae, while CML appeared earlier and has already been presented in dinoflagellates. Further analysis showed that the number and sequence of EF-hand domain in CaMs are highly conserved, while those of CMLs are diverse among different plant taxa. Expression analysis revealed that the expression level of CaMs was generally higher than that of CMLs, indicating that the high-expression genes have essential functions, while the low-expression genes are the main reasons for the functional diversity of the CaM/CML gene family in plants. The results might contribute to understanding the evolution of CaM/CML genes as well as their molecular functions.