ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional and Applied Plant Genomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1589915
This article is part of the Research TopicYield-Component Traits, Flower and Fruit Development, and Metabolites of Woody Oil TreeView all 7 articles
Characterization analyses of MADS-box genes highlighting their functions with seed development in Ricinus communis
Provisionally accepted
- Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
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The MADS-box gene family plays a pivotal role in regulating floral organ development and various aspects of plant growth. Despite its well-established importance in many species, the function and evolution of MADS-box genes in Ricinus communis (castor) remain unexplored. This study presents an extensive genome-wide analysis of the MADS-box gene family in castor, covering their physicochemical characteristics, phylogenetics, gene architecture, chromosomal distribution, evolutionary dynamics, expression profiles, and co-expression networks.In total, 56 MADS-box genes were categorized into two main phylogenetic groups: type-I and type-II, which were further subdivided into three and two subgroups, respectively. Segmental duplication was found to be the primary driver of MADS-box gene expansion in castor, while purifying selection was evident across the entire gene family, as indicated by the Ka/Ks ratio. In-depth analyses of gene expression, promoter motifs, co-expression networks, and experimental validation (Y1H assays and qRT-PCR) revealed that RcMADS16 and RcMADS41 are key regulators of castor seed development, with RcMADS16 may involve in seed coat formation and RcMADS41 in oil accumulation. This study not only provides the first detailed insight into the evolutionary and functional landscape of MADS-box genes in castor, but also establishes a foundation for future investigations into the role of these genes in seed and organ development, both in castor and other plant species.
Keywords: MADS-box, co-expression, seed development, regulators, Castor
Received: 08 Mar 2025; Accepted: 22 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Zhou, Meng, Wen, Liu and Anmin. 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: YU Anmin, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
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