Table_5_Evolution Analyses of CAMTA Transcription Factor in Plants and Its Enhancing Effect on Cold-tolerance.XLSX

The calmodulin binding transcription activator (CAMTA) is a transcription factor that is widely present in eukaryotes with conserved structure. It contributes to the response to biotic and abiotic stresses and promotes the growth and development of plants. Although previous studies have investigated the number and function of CAMTAs in some species, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary process, phylogenetic relationship, expression patterns, and functions of CAMTAs in plants. Here we identified 465 CMATA genes from 112 plants and systematically studied the origin of CAMTA family, gene expansion, functional differentiation, gene structure, and conservative motif distribution. Based on these analyses, we presented the evidence that CAMTA family was originated from chlorophyta, and we speculated that CAMTA might experience obvious structure variation during its early evolution, and that the number of CAMTA genes might gradually increase in higher plants. To reveal potential functions of CAMTA genes, we analyzed the expression patterns of 12 representative species and found significant species specificity, tissue specificity, and developmental stage specificity of CAMTAs. The results also indicated that the CAMTA genes might promote the maturation and senescence. The expression levels and regulatory networks of CAMTAs revealed that CAMTAs could enhance cold tolerance of rice by regulating carbohydrate metabolism-related genes to accumulate carbohydrates or by modulating target genes together with other transcription factors. Our study provides an insight into the molecular evolution of CAMTA family and lays a foundation for further study of related biological functions.钙调蛋白结合转录激活因子（calmodulin binding transcription activator, CAMTA）是一类结构保守、广泛分布于真核生物中的转录因子。它参与植物对生物与非生物胁迫的响应，并促进植物生长发育。尽管此前已有研究针对部分物种中的CAMTA家族基因数量与功能展开探究，但目前学界对植物CAMTA家族的演化历程、系统发育关系、表达模式及生物学功能仍缺乏全面认知。本研究从112种植物中鉴定得到465个CAMTA基因，并系统解析了CAMTA家族的起源、基因扩张、功能分化、基因结构及保守基序分布特征。基于上述分析，本研究提出证据表明CAMTA家族起源于绿藻门（chlorophyta），并推测CAMTA家族在早期演化过程中可能经历了显著的结构变异，且高等植物中的CAMTA基因数量呈现逐步增加的趋势。为揭示CAMTA基因的潜在生物学功能，本研究对12个代表性物种的CAMTA基因表达模式进行分析，发现其具有显著的物种特异性、组织特异性及发育阶段特异性。研究结果同时表明，CAMTA基因可能参与调控植物的成熟与衰老过程。对CAMTA基因表达水平及调控网络的分析显示，CAMTA可通过调控碳水化合物代谢相关基因以促进碳水化合物积累，或与其他转录因子共同靶向调控下游基因，从而增强水稻的耐寒性。本研究为CAMTA家族的分子演化研究提供了新的视角，并为后续相关生物学功能的深入探究奠定了坚实基础。