FHY3 and FAR1 serve as positive regulators of the phyA-mediated far-red light signal pathway, influencing plant growth and development by regulating the expression of downstream genes. However, little is known about the FAR1/FHY3 family in Brassica species. A total of 21 members of the BnFAR1/FHY3 gene family were identified in the Brassica napus genome, exhibiting an uneven distribution across ten B. napus chromosomes. A phylogenetic analysis showed that the BnFAR1/FHY3 family could be divided into four subfamilies. Putative cis-elements in the BnFAR1/FHY3 promoter regions were also identified, which were potentially involved in phytohormone, light and abiotic stress responses (shading, low-temperature, etc.). Additionally, qRT-PCR results indicated that the expression levels of BnFAR1-10, BnFAR1-11, BnFAR1-21 and BnFAR1-4 decreased under shading stress. The expression of BnFAR1-10, BnFAR1-11 and BnFAR1-21 increased under low-temperature stress, whereas the expression of BnFAR1-4 did not change. In addition, the results of the tissue expression analysis showed that most of the genes exhibited the lowest expression in pollen and the highest expression in the 54-day silique. This study screened a batch of BnFHY3/BnFAR1 gene resources, which will contribute to further research on the functional characteristics of BnFHY3/BnFAR1 family members in growth, development and the stress response.

NBS-LRR genes constitute one of the largest resistance gene families in plants, which play key roles in resistance to pathogens. Although the identification and characterization of the NBS-LRR gene family has been extensively reported in various species, a comprehensive analysis in eggplant has not been previously documented. In this study, a total of 269 SmNBS genes were identified in the eggplant genome. Based on domain classification and phylogenetic analysis, SmNBSs were divided into three subgroups 231 CNLs (CC-NBS-LRR), 36 TNLs (TIR-NBS-LRR), and 2 RNLs (RPW8-NBS-LRR). Chromosomal mapping analysis revealed an uneven distribution of SmNBSs in clusters across chromosomes, with a predominant presence on chromosomes 10, 11, and 12. Structural analysis identified eight conserved motifs previously reported in SmNBSs, exhibiting high conservation in both amino acid sequences and their order. Evolutionary analysis demonstrated that tandem duplication events mainly contributed to the expansion of SmNBS. Subsequently, qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that nine SmNBSs exhibited differential expression patterns in response to R. solanacearum stress, with EGP05874.1 potentially involved in the resistance response. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive insight into SmNBSs, which will enhance the research on eggplant disease resistance and facilitate the breeding of new disease-resistant varieties.

In plants, the multi-gene family of dual-function hexokinases (HXKs) plays an important role in sugar metabolism and sensing, that affects growth and stress adaptation. Sugarcane is an important sucrose crop and biofuel crop. However, little is known about the HXK gene family in sugarcane. A comprehensive survey of sugarcane HXKs, including physicochemical properties, chromosomal distribution, conserved motifs, and gene structure was conducted, identifying 20 members of the SsHXK gene family that were located on seven of the 32 Saccharum spontaneum L. chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the SsHXK family could be divided into three subfamilies (group I, II and III). Motifs and gene structure were related to the classification of SsHXKs. Most SsHXKs contained 8–11 introns which was consistent with other monocots. Duplication event analysis indicated that HXKs in S. spontaneum L. primarily originated from segmental duplication. We also identified putative cis-elements in the SsHXK promoter regions which were involved in phytohormone, light and abiotic stress responses (drought, cold et al.). During normal growth and development, 17 SsHXKs were constitutively expressed in all ten tissues. Among them, SsHXK2, SsHXK12 and SsHXK14 had similar expression patterns and were more highly expressed than other genes at all times. The RNA-seq analysis showed that 14/20 SsHXKs had the highest expression level after cold stress for 6 h, especially SsHXK15, SsHXK16 and SsHXK18. As for drought treatment, 7/20 SsHXKs had the highest expression level after drought stress for 10 days, 3/20 (SsHKX1, SsHKX10 and SsHKX11) had the highest expression level after 10 days of recovery. Overall, our results revealed the potential biological function of SsHXKs, which may provide information for in-depth functional verification.

The SPL (SQUAMOSA promoter-binding protein-like) transcription factor gene family plays a crucial role in the growth of plants, including fruit development. Although the SPL gene family has been widely studied in many plants, it remains unexplored in eggplant, an important Solanaceae vegetable crop. In this study, we performed a genome-wide analysis and identified 11 SmSPL genes with 10 motifs in the eggplant genome, which were assigned to five groups based on the amino acid sequences and the gene structure of the SBP domain. In addition, the expression patterns of 11 SmSPL genes were analyzed in different tissue types and at four different fruit development stages in eggplant. The results showed that all SmSPL genes were expressed differently in various tissues, suggesting that they may play different roles in the regulation of the development of different organs. Specifically, the expression level of SmSPL_5 was increased at the fruit expansion stage and showed the highest expression levels at 16 and 24 days after pollination, suggesting that it may be involved in regulating fruit development at both the fruit expansion and commercial fruit stages. Overall, this study provides an important basis for further exploring the function of the SmSPL gene family in eggplant.