Genome-wide analysis of Solanum lycopersicum L. cyclophilins

Cyclophilins (CYPs) are highly conserved ubiquitous proteins belong to the peptidyl prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) superfamily. These proteins are present in a wide range of organisms; they contain a highly conserved peptidylprolyl cis/trans isomerase domain. A comprehensive database survey identified a total of 35 genes localized in all cellular compartments of Solanum lycopersicum L., but largely in the cytosol. Sequence alignment and conserved motif analyses of the SlCYP proteins revealed a highly conserved CLD motif. Evolutionary analysis predicted the clustering of a large number of gene pairs with high sequence similarity. Expression analysis using the RNA-Seq data showed that the majority of the SlCYP genes were highly expressed in mature leaves and blooming flowers, compared with their expression in other organs. This study provides a basis for the functional characterization of individual CYP genes in the future to elucidate their role(s) in protein refolding and long-distance signaling in tomatoes and in plant biology, in general.