Evolutionary characterization was carried out via genome-wide batch identification, phylogenetic tree construction, conserved motif analysis, synteny comparison and selection pressure profiling.
Key Findings
The DFR gene family was confirmed to originate in the common ancestor of ferns and seed plants, undergoing lineage-specific duplication expansion during terrestrial plant colonization of land.
A critical amino acid residue at position 133 was identified to dictate substrate specificity divergence among the three major DFR subtypes.
Positively selected key sites were screened, explaining the molecular driving force behind adaptive evolution of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in land plants.
The corresponding article A Comprehensive Evolutionary Analysis of the Dihydroflavonol 4-Reductase (DFR) Gene Family in Plants: Insights from 237 Species was published in Genes (IF: 3.1).