Identification and investigation of Zoysiagrass DELLA proteins orthologous to that of maize DWARF8 gene

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Warm-season turfgrasses like zoysia grass (Zoysia spp.) are gaining traction because of their cold and salt tolerance, hardiness, shade resistance, and athletic field suitability. Compared to other turfgrass species, research into the zoysia grass genome is lagging behind. This study focused on gibberellic acid (GA), a plant hormone critical to plant height and development. Plants with disrupted GA signaling often exhibit stunted growth and flowering. DELLA proteins repress this pathway; however, GA triggers their degradation and promotes internode elongation. We used in -silico analysis to identify the DELLA genes, similar to the known maize DWARF8 gene, in the three zoysia grasses. Our analysis revealed that two of these DELLA proteins originated from Zoysia japonica, four from Zoysia matrella, and two from Zoysia pacifica. A comparison of the predicted DELLA proteins from zoysia grass with the maize DWARF8 DELLA protein model revealed a high degree of sequence similarity. We identified eight putative DELLA protein sequences with high similarity (approximately 91%) to that of the maize DWARF8 model. The aim of this study was to understand the functional significance of genetic variations within these DELLA genes across three Zoysia species using comparative genomics approaches, providing insight into the species' plant height differences.