ANÁLISE DA EXPRESSÃO DO GENE FRIGIDA4-like (FRL4) DE CAFÉ (Coffea arabica L.)

ABSTRACT Coffee is one of the most economically important commodities. In Brazil, this crop is responsible for generating more than eight million jobs. In the foreign market, Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee. Due to its economic importance, several studies aiming the improvement of coffee are conducted, but there are still problems related to its productivity and quality of the beverage, such as sequential flowering, which causes production losses and a low quality drink. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the flowering process is essential to elucidate how flowering occurs in the coffee crop. The FRI gene is one of the main genes involved in flowering, as it positively regulates the FLC gene at expression levels that inhibit flowering. Thus, the objective of this work was to identify and analyze the expression of the FRIGIDA4-like gene (FRL4) through Bioinformatics and real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The CaFRL4 gene was identified and showed high expression levels in leaf during flowering, which corroborates with the literature. The results obtained provide the basis for future studies involving genetic transformation in model plants and coffee, permitting the functional characterization of this gene.ABSTRACT Coffee is one of the most economically important commodities. In Brazil, this crop is responsible for generating more than eight million jobs. In the foreign market, Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee. Due to its economic importance, several studies aiming the improvement of coffee are conducted, but there are still problems related to its productivity and quality of the beverage, such as sequential flowering, which causes production losses and a low quality drink. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the flowering process is essential to elucidate how flowering occurs in the coffee crop. The FRI gene is one of the main genes involved in flowering, as it positively regulates the FLC gene at expression levels that inhibit flowering. Thus, the objective of this work was to identify and analyze the expression of the FRIGIDA4-like gene (FRL4) through Bioinformatics and real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The CaFRL4 gene was identified and showed high expression levels in leaf during flowering, which corroborates with the literature. The results obtained provide the basis for future studies involving genetic transformation in model plants and coffee, permitting the functional characterization of this gene. Keywords: RT-qPCR, Arabica coffee, Flowering.RESUMO O café é uma das commodities de maior importância econômica. Em âmbito nacional, a cafeicultura é responsável pela geração de mais de oito milhões de empregos. No mercado externo, o Brasil é o maior produtor e exportador do café. Diante da sua importância econômica, vários estudos visando o melhoramento do cafeeiro são desenvolvidos, mas, ainda existem problemas relacionados a sua produtividade e qualidade da bebida, como o florescimento sequencial, que ocasiona perdas de produção e uma bebida de baixa qualidade. Deste modo, a compreensão dos mecanismos moleculares envolvidos no processo de florescimento é essencial para elucidar como o florescimento ocorre na cultura do café. O gene FRI é um dos principais genes envolvidos no florescimento, pois regula positivamente o gene FLC a níveis de expressão que inibem o florescimento. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar e analisar a expressão do gene FRIGIDA4-like (FRL4) por meio da Bioinformática e da PCR em tempo real (RT-qPCR). O gene CaFRL4 foi identificado e apresentou altos níveis de expressão em folha durante o florescimento, o que corrobora com a literatura. Os resultados obtidos dão base para estudos futuros envolvendo transformação genética em plantas-modelo e em café, possibilitando a caracterização funcional desse gene. Palavras-chave: RT-qPCR; Café arábica; Florescimento