TY  - EJOU
AU  - Alther, Esra 
AU  - Elsanosi, Hind Abdelmonim 
AU  - Badawi, Ghazi 
AU  - Zhou, Guisheng 

TI  - Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the <i>DUF506</i> Gene Family in Sorghum (<i>Sorghum bicolor</i> L.) under Abiotic Stresses
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - The domain of unknown function 506 (DUF506) family belongs to the PD-(D/E) XK nuclease superfamily and is related to the regulation of plant growth and development and responses to abiotic stress. To date, no comprehensive analysis of the <i>DUF506</i> gene family has been conducted in <i>Sorghum bicolor</i>. This study revealed nine <i>SbDUF506</i> genes, which have been distributed unevenly across five chromosomes. Gene structure analysis indicated that <i>SbDUF506</i> genes composed of one to three exons and introns. Cis-regulatory element analysis indicated that most <i>SbDUF506</i> genes are associated with responses to abiotic stress. Collectively, the results suggest that gene duplication events markedly enhanced the evolutionary proliferation of the <i>SbDUF506</i> gene family. Ka/Ks analysis indicated that these genes have predominantly evolved under purifying selection. Furthermore, the expression analysis profiles of the <i>SbDUF506</i> genes across various tissues and under stress conditions were evaluated via RT-qPCR following heat, salinity, and cold treatments. The results indicated that most <i>SbDUF506</i> genes are responsive to cold stress, as well as to heat and salinity. These findings advance the theoretical understanding of the evolutionary organization and stress-responsive regulation of the <i>DUF506</i> gene family in sorghum and provide candidate genes for further functional validation and the molecular breeding of Sorghum cultivars with improved tolerance to abiotic stresses.
KW  - <i>Sorghum bicolor</i>; DUF506; gene expression; bioinformatics analysis; abiotic stress

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2026.087409