Genome-Wide Identification, Evolution, and Expression Analysis of GASA Gene Family in .

The Gibberellic Acid Stimulated Arabidopsis/Gibberellin Stimulated Transcript (GASA/GAST) gene family is a group of plant-specific genes encoding cysteine-rich peptides essential to plant growth, development, and stress responses. Although GASA family genes have been identified in various plant species, their functional roles in are still unknown. In this study, a total of 16 genes were identified via a genome-wide scan in and were grouped into three major gene clades based on the phylogenetic tree. All PmGASA proteins possessed the conserved GASA domain, consisting of 12-cysteine residues, but varied slightly in protein physiochemical properties and motif composition. With evolutionary analysis, we observed that duplications and purifying selection are major forces driving family gene evolution. By analyzing promoters, we detected a number of hormonal-response related cis-elements and constructed a putative transcriptional regulatory network for . To further understand the functional role of genes, we analyzed the expression patterns of across different organs and during various biological processes. The expression analysis revealed the functional implication of gene members in gibberellic acid-, abscisic acid-, and auxin-signaling, and during the progression of floral bud break in . To summarize, these findings provide a comprehensive understanding of GASA family genes in and offer a theoretical basis for future research on the functional characterization of GASA genes in other woody perennials.