荒漠植物红砂AP2/ERF基因家族鉴定及在盐胁迫下的表达模式OA

INTRODUCTION:Reaumuria soongorica,a perennial small shrub,is widely distributed in arid desert regions of north-western China.It exhibits exceptional drought and salt tolerance,making it an ideal model for studying molecular mecha-nisms of plant stress resistance. RATIONALE:We used the R.soongorica genome as a reference to identify members of the AP2/ERF gene family in this species,and analyzed their phylogeny,gene structure,conserved motifs,cis-acting elements,gene duplication events,as well as the expression patterns of these family members under salt stress. RESULTS:Seventy AP2/ERF genes were identified from the R.soongorica genome.Phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into four subfamilies:AP2,ERF,DREB,and RAV.Cis-acting element analysis revealed multiple regulatory elements associated with light responsiveness,stress adaptation,growth regulation,and hormone signaling in the pro-moter regions of R.soongorica AP2/ERF genes.These genes exhibited an uneven distribution across all 11 chromo-somes of the R.soongorica genome,with 63 genes(90％of the total)originating from gene duplication events.Evolu-tionary analysis suggested that whole-genome duplication(WGD)and dispersed duplication were the primary drivers of family expansion.Under salt stress,AP2/ERF genes showed divergent expression patterns in R.soongorica seedlings,with six genes displaying significant differential expression(|log2FC|≥1,P＜0.05),implicating their potential roles in salt stress response. CONCLUSION:This study identified and characterized the AP2/ERF gene family in R.soongorica at the genomic level,thereby establishing a foundation for elucidating its functional roles in this species' adaptation to arid and saline envi-ronments.