Genome‐wide analysis of the AP2/ERF gene family inSalix arbutifolia

Abstract

AP2/ERF genes encode transcriptional regulators with a variety of functions in plant growth and development and in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. To date, there are no detailed classification and expression profiles for AP2/ERF genes inSalix. In this study, a comprehensive computational analysis identified 173 AP2/ERF superfamily genes in willow (Salix arbutifolia), by usingin silico cloning methods with the use of the AP2/ERF conserved domain amino acid sequence ofArabidopsis thaliana as a probe. Based on the results of phylogenetic analyses and the number of AP2/ERF domains, the AP2/ERF genes were classified into four groups: AP2, RAV, ERF and Soloist. The expression profile was analyzed using transcriptome data from different tissues. A comparative analysis ofAP2/ERF superfamily genes amongSalix,Populus andArabidopsis was performed. TheSalix DREB, AP2 and RAV groups had a similar number to those in Arabidopsis, and the size of the ERF subfamily inSalix was about 1.4‐fold that of Arabidopsis. TheSalix DREB subfamily was smaller compared toPopulus, while the other families were similar in size to those inPopulus. These results will be useful for future functional analyses of the ERF family genes.

Keywords

• Transcription factors
• AP2/ERF
• Transcriptome
• Salix arbutifolia