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| Identification, Expression and Interaction Analysis of the GRF Gene Family in Betula pendula |
| WANG Wen-Xin, JIANG Mei, GE Xu-Ru, WANG Xiao-Ya, HUANG Hua-Hong, LIN Er-Pei* |
| The School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Agricultural and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China |
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Abstract Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) are plant-specific transcription factors that play an important role in regulating plant growth and development. Based on the genome sequence of Betula pendula, in this study, analyses on GRF gene family were conducted, including their identification, gene sequence characteristics, evolutionary relationships, cis-acting elements within promoters, expression patterns and protein interaction. The results revealed that there were 10 GRF genes in the genome of B. pendula, distributed across 6 chromosomes and belonged to 6 subgroups (Ⅰ~Ⅵ). The members within the same subgroup had similar gene structures and conserved motifs, and they were all regulated by miR396. Cis-acting element analysis showed that numerous regulatory elements related to growth, hormone response, and abiotic stress were located in the promoter regions of BpeGRF genes. Expression analysis indicated that most BpeGRFs genes had significantly higher expression levels in young tissues such as apical buds compared to mature tissues. Genes like BpeGRF1, BpeGRF3 and BpeGRF4 exhibited specific high expression in apical buds. Meanwhile, the expression of most BpeGRF genes showed an initial increase followed by a decrease under gibberellin (GA) treatment. Protein interaction prediction analysis showed that widespread interactions among 8 BpeGRFs with GRF-interacting factor (GIF) BpeGIF1 and BpeGIF3, and further bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) experiments confirmed a strong interaction between BpeGRF4 and BpeGIF1. This study lays an important foundation for further exploration of the functions of GRF genes in B. pendula.
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Received: 16 December 2024
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Corresponding Authors:
*zjulep@hotmail.com
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