Identification of peach growth regulating-factors and their expression under UVB

Background: Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) are one of the most important plant-specific transcription factors with vital roles in multiple biological processes. GRFs have been identified in a variety of plant species, but a handful of research has addressed GRF genes in peach (Prunus persica).Results: Here, we report 46 members of the GRF family in four Rosaceae, divided into six subfamilies according to phylogeny, gene structure, and motif composition. We detected three collinear gene pairs generated from peach by whole-genome duplication or segmental duplication, but no tandem repeats were detected. Expression pattern analysis found that most PpGRFs were preferentially expressed in young tissues, At the sametime, multiple types cis-elements were observed in PpGRF promoters, and PpGRFs could positively respond to ultraviolet B-rays (UVB) and gibberellin (GA)treatments at the transcriptional level. Also, the content of GA3 and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) changed significantly after UVB irradiation, indicating that GRFs might be involved in new shoot development in peach.Conclusions: This study identified 10 GRF genes in the peach genome and systematically analyzed their properties, thereby providing a foundation for researchers to have a better understanding of this gene family in peach. PpGRF 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 positive responses to UVB and GA3 signals indicate that they can serve as candidate functional genes to further study how tree potential is regulated in peach.