Genome-wide identification of multifunctional laccase gene family in Eucalyptus grandis: potential targets for lignin engineering and stress tolerance

A survey of theEucalyptus grandis genome revealed the presence of 54 laccase genes. Their tissue-specific and stress-induced expression patterns suggest a role in lignification and adaptation to abiotic stresses. Laccases are multicopper oxidases that play important roles in the oxidation of monolignols during lignin biosynthesis and are reported to be functionally involved in plant development and stress responses. In this study, a genome-wide survey of the Eucalyptus grandis genome revealed the presence of 54 putative LAC genes (referred as EgrLAC), which were assigned to six different phylogenetic groups. Among them, 17 were predicted to be potential targets of miR397, a negative regulator of lignin biosynthesis. Based on different RNA-Seq datasets, distinct organ/tissue expression patterns of the identified EgrLAC genes were ascertained. The vast majority, however, showed enriched expression in the vascular tissues of roots and stems. Additional expression profiling of selected EgrLAC genes revealed differential expression in response to oxidative and osmotic stresses, suggesting a role in abiotic stress responses. Parallel promoter analysis of EgrLAC4, a close homologue to the Arabidopsis lignin biosynthesis-related gene AtLAC17, revealed a vascular expression pattern, mostly associated with the phloem. Overall, our data point to an involvement of the identified EgrLAC genes in lignification and in Eucalyptus adaptation to abiotic stresses.