95% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Development and EvoDevo
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1583110
Evolution of HD-ZIP Transcription Factors and Their Function in Cabbage Leafy Head Formation
Provisionally accepted
Ju Zhang 1,2
Can Chen 2,3
Qihang Yang 1
Jie Xu 2
Zizhuo Han 1
Wei Ma 1
Xiaomeng Zhang 1
Dong Ke Xu 2*
Jianjun Zhao 1*
Xueping Chen 1*- 1 State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Hebei, College of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei 071001, China, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei, China
- 2 Key Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Molecular Breeding, Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding and Bioreactor, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan 466001, China, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan Province, China
- 3 College of Agronomy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450046, China, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
The HD-ZIP protein, a unique class of transcription factors in plants, plays a crucial role in plant growth and development. Although some HD-ZIP transcription factors have been implicated in leafy head formation in Chinese cabbage, their regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, HD-ZIP gene sequences from 87 species were analyzed to explore the evolutionary history of this gene family. Despite significant variation in gene family expansion and contraction across species, our findings indicated that HD-ZIP family proteins were conserved in both lower (Charophyta) and higher plants, where they were potentially involved in root, stem, and leaf differentiation. In our analysis of 22 Brassica species, HD-ZIP III protein sequences and domains were conserved. However, within the pan-genome A of 18 Brassica rapa species, differences were observed in auxin-related cis-elements within the HD-ZIP III promoter regions between heading and non-heading cabbage varieties. RNA-seq analysis of wild-type A03 (heading) and mutant fg-1 (non-heading) revealed that 131 genes formed a protein interaction network or clustered in the same branch as HD-ZIP family genes. Through GO enrichment and qRT-PCR, several key candidate genes of Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis A03 associated with leafy head formation in cabbage were identified. These findings established a foundation for understanding the molecular mechanisms by which the HD-ZIP gene family regulated head growth in Chinese cabbage.
Keywords: Chinese cabbage, HD-ZIP family, phylogenetic analysis, Head formation, RNA-Seq
Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Chen, Yang, Xu, Han, Ma, Zhang, Xu, Zhao and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Dong Ke Xu, Key Laboratory of Plant Genetics and Molecular Breeding, Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding and Bioreactor, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan 466001, China, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan Province, China
Jianjun Zhao, State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Hebei, College of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei 071001, China, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, 071001, Hebei, China
Xueping Chen, State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Vegetable Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Hebei, College of Horticulture, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, Hebei 071001, China, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, 071001, Hebei, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.