Comparative and evolutionary analyses of cyclophilins in Cucumis sativus, Phaseolus vulgaris, and Vitis vinifera

Cyclophilins, ubiquitous proteins present in the majority of organisms including bacteria, fungi, higher plants, humans, and so on, are known to play diverse cellular functions. In this study, we have performed genome-wide analyses of cyclophilins from three plant species, Cucumis sativus, Phaseolus vulgaris, and Vitis vinifera. This analysis revealed 21, 26, and 22 cyclophilins in C. sativus, P. vulgaris, and V. vinifera, respectively. The majority of cyclophilins are present in the cytosol and nucleus, while few were observed in mitochondria and vacuole. A total of 15, 19, and 16 single-domain cyclophilins while 6, 7, and 6 multi domain cyclophilins are present in C. sativus, P. vulgaris, and V. vinifera. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis showed the grouping of cyclophilins in five major clades with relevance to domains and sub cellular localization. Our study also suggests P. vulgaris and V. vinifera have similar intron exon structures. Eight motifs have been conserved in most cyclophilins out of which six amino acids long motif GSQFFI is prominent. In-silico expression studies revealed CucCYP13 is highly expressed in roots (10 folds higher) and is orthologous to previously reported GmCYP1 of G. max. CucCYP13 from C. sativus has been identified as ortholog of GmCYP1 which plays important role in disease resistance in soybean. Additionally, CucCYP2, PhvCYP22, and GsvCYP5 which have high sequence similarity with Arabidopsis CYP 71 (AT3g44600) could play a key role in gene repression, organogenesis, and meristem development. Overall, the present study offers key insight into this important class of immunophilin, and the newly identified cyclophilins in P. vulgaris, C. sativus, and V. vinifera may play important roles in abiotic stresses and key physiological traits.