Genome-wide analysis of the family of light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins in pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.)

The light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding (LHC) proteins as higher plant light-harvesting antenna play a key role in photosynthesis and development of plant. Here, genome-wide analysis and characteristics of the LHCs in pomegranate were performed. Total 16 putative LHC genes with a typical chlorophyll a/b binding domain were identified in 'Taishanhong' pomegranate genome. Amino acid sequences of these proteins were ranged from 128 to 291 in length. A Maximum likelihood tree was constructed and the result showed that the 16 LHC genes could be divided into two distinct groups. Gene structure analysis demonstrated that LHC genes in pomegranate are slightly different in terms of gene structure. The expression profiles of the PgLHC genes explored using RNA-seq data indicated that 12 out of 16 PgLHC genes expression was detected in five different tissues. The expression levels are significantly higher in leaf than other non-green tissues. This is the first report of identification of LHCs in pomegranate at the genome level, and the conclusion presented here should provide valuable information for molecular breeding of pomegranate varieties with high yield.