Open Access

ARTICLE

Genome-Wide Identification of the APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) Gene Family in Acer paxii and Transcriptional Expression Analysis at Different Leaf Coloration Stages

Zhong Ren^1,2,3,#, Shuiming Zhang^1,#, Yuzhi Fei¹, Zhu Chen³, Yue Zhao³, Xin Meng³, Hongfei Zhao^2,*, Jie Ren^3,*

1 School of Horticulture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China
2 College of Urban Construction, Zhejiang Shuren University, Shaoxing, 312028, China
3 Agriculture Mechanization and Engineering Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China

* Corresponding Authors: Hongfei Zhao. Email: ; Jie Ren. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Ornamental Plants: Traits, Flowering, Aroma, Molecular Mechanisms, Postharvest Handling, and Application)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(9), 2927-2947. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.067310

Received 29 April 2025; Accepted 05 August 2025; Issue published 30 September 2025

Abstract

Acer paxii belongs to the evergreen species of Acer, but it exhibits a unique feature of reddish leaves in fall in subtropical regions. Although the association of AP2/ERF transcription factors with color change has been well-documented in prior research, molecular investigations focusing on AP2/ERF remain notably lacking in Acer paxii. This research focuses on performing an extensive genome-wide investigation to identify and characterize the AP2/ERF gene family in Acer paxii. As a result, 123 ApAP2/ERFs were obtained. Phylogenetic analyses categorized the ApAP2/ERF family members into 15 subfamilies. The evolutionary traits of the ApAP2/ERFs were investigated by analyzing their chromosomal locations, conserved protein motifs, and gene duplication events. Moreover, investigating gene promoters revealed their potential involvement in developmental regulation, physiological processes, and stress adaptation mechanisms. Measurements of anthocyanin content revealed a notable increase in red leaves during autumn. Utilizing transcriptome data, transcriptomic profiling revealed that the majority of AP2/ERF genes in Acer paxii displayed significant differential expression between red and green leaves during the color-changing period. Furthermore, through qRT-PCR analysis, it was found that the gene expression levels of ApERF006, ApERF014, ApERF048, ApERF097, and ApERF107 were significantly elevated in red leaves. This indicates their potential participation in leaf pigmentation processes. These findings offer significant insights into the biological significance of ApAP2/ERF transcription factors and lay the groundwork for subsequent investigations into their regulatory mechanisms underlying leaf pigmentation in Acer paxii.

---

Keywords

---

Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

---