Investigation of the JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN Gene Family Reveals the Canonical JA-Signaling Pathway in Pineapple

JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN (JAZ) proteins are negative regulators of the jasmonate (JA)-signaling pathway and play pivotal roles in plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Genome-wide identification of JAZ genes has been performed in many plant species. However, systematic information about pineapple ( L. Merr.) genes ( ) is still not available. In this study, we identified 14 genes and classified them into five groups along with the Arabidopsis and rice orthologs. The genes have 3-10 exons, and the putative AcJAZ proteins have between two and eight conserved regions, including the TIFY motif and Jas domain. The -acting element analysis revealed that the putative promoter regions of contain between three and eight abiotic stress-responsive -acting elements. The gene-expression analysis suggested that were expressed differentially during plant development and subjected to regulation by the cold, heat, salt, and osmotic stresses as well as by phytohormones. Moreover, the BiFC analysis of protein interactions among the central JA-signaling regulators showed that AcJAZ4, AcMYC2, AcNINJA, and AcJAM1 could interact with AcJAZ5 and AcJAZ13 in vivo, indicating a canonical JA-signaling pathway in pineapple. These results increase our understanding of the functions of AcJAZs and the responses of the core players in the JA-signaling pathway to abiotic stresses.