Genome-wide identification and analysis of Lateral Organ Boundaries Domain (LBD) transcription factor gene family in melon (Cucumis melo L.).

Background: Lateral Organ Boundaries Domain (LBD) transcription factor (TF) gene family members play very critical roles in several biological processes like plant-spesific development and growth process, tissue regeneration, different biotic and abiotic stress responses in plant tissues and organs. The LBD genes have been analyzed in various species. Melon (Cucumis melo L.), a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, is economically important and contains important molecules for nutrition and human health such as vitamins A and C, ß-carotenes, phenolic acids, phenolic acids, minerals and folic acid. However, no studies have been reported so far about LBD genes in melon hence this is the first study for LBD genes in this plant. Results: In this study, 40 melon CmLBD TF genes were identified, which were separated into seven groups through phylogenetic analysis. Cis-acting elements showed that these genes were associated with plant growth and development, phytohormone and abiotic stress responses. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that of CmLBD genes especially function in regulation and developmental processes. The in silico and qRT-PCR expression patterns demonstrated that CmLBD01 and CmLBD18 are highly expressed in root and leaf tissues, CmLBD03 and CmLBD14 displayed a high expression in male-female flower and ovary tissues. Conclusions: These results may provide important contributions for future research on the functional characterization of the melon LBD gene family and the outputs of this study can provide information about the evolution and characteristics of melon LBD gene family for next studies.

TGFα/HinfI Polymorphisms Contribute to Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and Palate in Turkish Patients.

BACKGROUND: Nonsyndromic cleft lip with/without cleft palate (nsCL ± P) is one of the most common birth defects of complex etiology, occurring in ∼1/700 live births worldwide. A series of epidemiological studies were conducted to investigate the association between a transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα) polymorphism and nsCL ± P risk. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the TGFα/HinfI polymorphisms and nsCL ± P in Turkish patients. METHODS: One hundred fifty-five Turkish subjects were enrolled: 70 nsCL ± P patients and 85 unrelated control individuals. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes, and molecular analysis of gene polymorphisms was carried out using polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestions. RESULTS: We found significant difference between the TGFα gene HinfI allele frequencies of the controls and: 1) the occurrence of nonsyndromic cleft lip (p = 0.029,); 2) the occurrence of nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (nsCL + P) cases (p = 0.024; and 3) the occurrence of both nsCL ± nsCLP cases (p = 0.0365). The association between age of parents, gender, maternal exposures, socioeconomic status and clefts was assessed in each group separately. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that the TGFα HinfI gene polymorphism might be associated with nsCL ± P susceptibility, thus contributing to the occurrence of nsCL ± P in Turkish patients. The relatively small sample size of our study is one limitation of our study, and future research with larger specimen sets from different ethnicities will be required to validate our findings.