Genome-Wide Characterization and In-silico Transcriptional Expression Analysis of PEBP Family in Solanum lycopersicum L.

Abstract

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins (PEBPs) are an important gene family with highly conserved protein sequences represented in three taxonomic divisions. In plants, PEBP genes are an important actors in the regulation of flowering time, plant architecture and seed dormancy. Despite this, PEBP genes have not been genome-wide identified and systematically analyzed in tomato. In this study, the PEBP gene family in tomato, one of the economically important Solanum species, was comprehensively identified genome-wide and characterized by bioinformatics tools. Here, 12 PEBP genes were identified, which were classified into four clades based on their phylogenetic relationships and the presence of the structurally conserved domain/motif. In addition, the gene structure, conserved protein structure, promoter regions, and digital expression levels of these PEBP genes were determined. Digital expression profiling of SlPEBP transcripts revealed their expression in most developmental and anatomical tissues. These results will provide the further functional and evolutionary characterization of PEBP genes in tomato.