Abstract：4-coumarate coenzyme A ligase (4CL) is the last key enzyme of the phenylpropane pathway, which can regulate the biosynthesis of lignin, anthocyanin, and flavonoids, and has an important effect on stress resistance. In order to reveal the biological role of 4CL gene family in Rubus chingii, the present study identified the 4CL gene family through an approach of bioinformatics, and investigated the physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, chromosomal localization, systematic evolution, gene structure, conserved motifs, protein secondary structure and cis-acting elements of each member. Besides, their expression profiles in different tissues and at different growth stages were detected. The results showed that 6 4CL gene family members were presented in R. chingii, with similar physicochemical properties and conserved gene structure, and were divided into 3 subfamilies. Six 4CL genes were unevenly distributed on chromosomes 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. The promoter regions of 6 4CL genes harbored auxin, gibberellin, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid, light, anaerobic, and drought responsive cis-acting elements. The 4CL genes differentially expressed in different R. chingii tissues, among them, Rc4CL1, Rc4CL2, Rc4CL3 and Rc4CL4 were highly expressed in roots, while Rc4CL5 and Rc4CL6 were highly expressed in fruits. Simultaneously, they also differentially expressed at different fruit growth stages, among them, Rc4CL1, Rc4CL2 and Rc4CL3 showed a downward trend at the late stage of fruit development. However, Rc4CL2, Rc4CL5 and Rc4CL6 were highly expressed at the late stage of fruit development, indicating that they might play a crucial role in fruit ripening. The results provide a reference for in-depth study of the 4CL gene and its biological role in R. chingii.
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