The heat shock transcription factor (HSF) family plays a crucial role in plant growth, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. As a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. is rich in various bioactive compounds, including flavonoids and terpenes. However, a systematic identification and characterization of the HSF gene family in G. uralensis is currently lacking. To clarify the biological functions of this gene family, we systematically identified HSF family members based on the genomic data of G. uralensis, and analyzed their physicochemical properties, chromosomal localization, phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, and collinearity. Meanwhile, combined with transcriptome sequencing and qRT-PCR analyses, we elucidated the expression patterns of GuHSF genes and their co-expressed genes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis under drought stress. The results showed that a total of 26 GuHSF genes were identified from the genome of G. uralensis, which can be classified into three subfamilies, and the HSF proteins within the C subfamily exhibited high similarity in conserved motifs. Collinearity analysis revealed 12 pairs of segmental duplications within the GuHSF family, and the syntenic relationships between GuHSF genes and soybean HSF genes were the strongest among the compared species. The results of qRT-PCR analysis indicated that GuHSF2, GuHSF4, GuHSF14, GuHSF18, GuHSF21, and GuHSF26 genes were significantly induced by drought stress. In addition, under drought conditions, strong correlations were observed between GuHSF1, GuHSF4, GuHSF9, GuHSF11, and GuHSF21 genes and flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes. This study systematically identified and analyzed the GuHSF family genes in G. uralensis, which provides important clues for subsequent investigations into the biological functions of core members of this family.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |