AUTHOR=Sun Yue , Li He , Wu Jiajing , Zhang Kangning , Tang Wei , Cong Lili , Xie Hongli , Wang Zeng-Yu , Chai Maofeng 

TITLE=Genome-wide identification of growth-regulating factor transcription factor family related to leaf and stem development in alfalfa

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.964604

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.964604

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) play crucial roles in plant growth and stress response. To date, there have been no reports of the analysis and identification of the GRF transcription factor family in alfalfa. In this study, we identified 27 GRF family members from alfalfa (<italic>Medicago sativa</italic> L.) “Xinjiang Daye”, and analyzed their physicochemical properties. Based on phylogenetic analysis, these <italic>MsGRFs</italic> were divided into five subgroups, each with a similar gene structure and conserved motifs. <italic>MsGRFs</italic> genes are distributed on 23 chromosomes, and all contain QLQ and WRC conserved domains. The results of the collinearity analysis showed that all <italic>MsGRFs</italic> are involved in gene duplication, including multiple whole-genome duplication or segmental duplication and a set of tandem duplication, indicating that large-scale duplication is important for the expansion of the GRF family in alfalfa. Several hormone-related and stress-related <italic>cis</italic>-acting elements have been found in the promoter regions of <italic>MsGRFs</italic>. Some <italic>MsGRFs</italic> were highly expressed in young leaves and stems, and their expression decreased during development. In addition, the leaf size of different varieties was found to vary, and <italic>MsGRF1</italic> to <italic>4</italic>, <italic>MsGRF18</italic> to <italic>20</italic>, and <italic>MsGRF22</italic> to <italic>23</italic> were differentially expressed in large and small leaf alfalfa varieties, suggesting that they are critical in the regulation of leaf size. The results of this study can benefit further exploration of the regulatory functions of <italic>MsGRFs</italic> in growth and development, and can identify candidate genes that control leaf size development.</p>