Identification, Structural Analysis, and Expression Profile of Genes Related to Starch Metabolism in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz)

Starch metabolism is known to be an important pathway in the growth and development of plants. This study was conducted to investigate the genome-wide identification and structural analysis of genes encoding uridine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase), a key enzyme in starch synthesis in cassava, and to analyze the expression profiles of these genes based on publicly available RNA-seq data. A total of 11 members were found in the UGPase gene family (MeUGP) in cassava. Ten of the MeUGP genes were successfully mapped onto the chromosomes of the current cassava genome assembly. Based on their nucleotide sequences, the lengths of the genomic DNA sequences of the MeUGP genes ranged from 3,200 to 11,601bp, while the size of the coding sequence (CDS) varied from 831 to 3,654bp. According to the recent RNA-seq data, we found that a majority of the MeUGP genes were expressed in at least 1 tissue under normal conditions. Interestingly, MeUGP4 was greatly expressed in the shoot apical meristem, while MeUGP10 was more specific in the root apical meristem. The expression profiles of these MeUGP genes should be carried out in various conditions in further studies.