The plant-specific PLATZ transcription factors play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic stresses. However, despite their functional significance, PLATZ genes remain poorly characterized in soybeans. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of the GmPLATZ gene family and investigated their expression profiles under salt stress. We identified a total of 29 GmPLATZ genes in the soybean genome and systematically analyzed their physicochemical properties, conserved domains, evolutionary relationships, cis-acting elements, and expression regulation patterns. Subcellular localization predictions indicated nuclear localization for most GmPLATZs, except for GmPLATZ5 and GmPLATZ14, which showed dual chloroplast–nuclear localization. A gene family expansion analysis indicated that 21 segmental duplication events were the primary driver of GmPLATZ diversification. A phylogenetic analysis classified the GmPLATZ genes into four subgroups, while gene structure and motif analyses revealed conserved zinc-binding domains and identified multiple cis-acting elements associated with light responsiveness, hormone signaling, and stress responses. Expression profiling showed tissue-specific expression patterns, with 13 GmPLATZ genes differentially expressed under salt stress, including root-preferential members (e.g., GmPLATZ1, GmPLATZ10) and leaf-preferential members (e.g., GmPLATZ8, GmPLATZ9). This study provides a theoretical basis for further investigation of GmPLATZ gene functions in soybean development and stress tolerance.

Heterosis utilization is an effective strategy to improve crop yield, stress resistance, and quality, and has been widely used in crop breeding. Soybean is an important oil and protein crop worldwide with heterosis, but the genetic basis of soybean heterosis remains largely unclear. Whole-transcriptome analysis provides a new technical approach to explore the molecular mechanism of heterosis. In this study, HYBSOY2, a registered soybean hybrid variety with the strongest heterosis in China, together with its female parent JLCMS47A, maintainer line JLCMS47B, and male parent JLR2, were used as experimental material. Whole-transcriptome sequencing was performed using RNA extracted from seedling leaves. After mapping high-quality reads to the soybean reference genome, 57 co-expressed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in HYBSOY2 compared with both JLCMS47B and JLR2. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses shows that these DEGs were mainly enriched in ADP binding, oxidoreductase activity, fatty acid elongation, and pyruvate metabolism. A total of 787 transcription factors were identified between HYBSOY2 and its parents, most of which shows parental expression-level dominance, with the MYB family accounting for the highest proportion. In addition, 10 differentially expressed lncRNAs were detected between HYBSOY2 and its parents. In the comparison between HYBSOY2 and JLCMS47B, 18 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, among which up-regulated miR396d functions in promoting leaf development and enhancing drought tolerance. In the comparison between HYBSOY2 and JLR2, 20 differentially expressed miRNAs were found, including down-regulated miR172c which is involved in flowering promotion. A total of 12 DEGs were further verified by qRT-PCR, which may be closely related to soybean heterosis. This study provides a comprehensive transcriptomic profile at the seedling stage of the hybrid soybean and offers valuable information for hybrid soybean breeding. These results lay a foundation for further revealing the molecular mechanism underlying soybean heterosis.