Patterns of molecular evolution and predicted function in thaumatin-like proteins of Populus trichocarpa

Some pathogenesis-related proteins (PR proteins) are subject to positive selection, while others are under negative selection. Here, we report the patterns of molecular evolution in thaumatin-like protein (TLP, PR5 protein) genes of Populus trichocarpa. Signs of positive selection were found in 20 out of 55 Populus TLPs using the likelihood ratio test and ML-based Bayesian methods. Due to the connection between the acidic cleft and the antifungal activity, the secondary structure and three-dimensional structure analyses predicted antifungal activity beta-1,3-glucanase activities in these TLPs. Moreover, the coincidence with variable basic sites in the acidic cleft and positively selected sites suggested that fungal diseases may have been the main environmental stress that drove rapid adaptive evolution in Populus.