Bioinformatic and phylogenetic analysis of the CLAVATA3/EMBRYO-SURROUNDING REGION (CLE) and the CLE-LIKE signal peptide genes in the Pinophyta

Background There is a rapidly growing awareness that plant peptide signalling molecules are numerous and varied and they are known to play fundamental roles in angiosperm plant growth and development. Two closely related peptide signalling molecule families are the CLAVATA3-EMBRYO-SURROUNDING REGION (CLE) and CLE-LIKE (CLEL) genes, which encode precursors of secreted peptide ligands that have roles in meristem maintenance and root gravitropism. Progress in peptide signalling molecule research in gymnosperms has lagged behind that of angiosperms. We therefore sought to identify CLE and CLEL genes in gymnosperms and conduct a comparative analysis of these gene families with angiosperms.