Objective Light is one of the important ecological factors for the growth, development, and secondary metabolism of leaf-using medicinal plants. To conduct genome-wide identification and expression characterization analysis of the MYB transcription factor family (EpMYB) in Epimedium pubescens, and to deeply explore the biological functions of EpMYB in response to light factors. Methods Based on the published genome of E. pubescens, bioinformatics methods were used to identify members of the EpMYB gene family, and analyze their physicochemical properties, chromosomal distribution, phylogenetic evolution, gene structure, and cis-acting elements. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was applied to analyze the expression characteristics of EpMYB in E. pubescens leaves under different light qualities. Results A total of 87 EpMYB genes (EpMYB1 to EpMYB87) were identified, which were subdivided into 14 subfamilies. The encoded amino acids ranged from 150 to 561 aa, with relative molecular weights of proteins from 17 857.76 to 61 369.56 and isoelectric points between 4.62 and 10.75. Gene structure analysis showed that all EpMYB genes contained similar conserved domains. Cis-element prediction indicated that light-responsive elements, methyl jasmonate, and auxin elements were widely distributed in the promoter regions of the EpMYB gene family. Genome-wide collinearity analysis revealed that whole-genome duplication and segmental duplication played crucial roles in the evolution of the EpMYB gene family, and strong purifying selection occurred after duplication. RT-qPCR analysis of the expression characteristics of 24 potential light-responsive EpMYB genes showed that the number of EpMYB genes significantly upregulated under yellow and blue light was much higher than that under red light. Blue light significantly upregulated the expression of 14 EpMYB genes such as EpMYB25, yellow light significantly upregulated seven EpMYB genes such as EpMYB16, and only EpMYB54 and EpMYB57 were significantly upregulated under red light. Conclusion Genome-wide identification and bioinformatics analysis of the EpMYB gene family in E. pubescens revealed that EpMYB genes respond more actively to blue light regulation, laying a foundation for further clarification of the functions of EpMYB genes in E. pubescens.

Epimedium pubescens Maxim.  /  MYB transcription factor  /  bioinformatics  /  gene family  /  collinearity analysis  /  expression characteristics