Open Access

ARTICLE

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the DUF506 Gene Family in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) under Abiotic Stresses

Esra Alther^1,2, Hind Abdelmonim Elsanosi^1,2, Ghazi Badawi², Guisheng Zhou^1,*

1 The Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
2 Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Khartoum North, Sudan

* Corresponding Author: Guisheng Zhou. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2026, 95(9), 14 https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2026.087409

Received 16 June 2026; Accepted 25 August 2026; Issue published 24 September 2026

Abstract

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 DUF506 gene family has been conducted in Sorghum bicolor. This study revealed nine SbDUF506 genes, which have been distributed unevenly across five chromosomes. Gene structure analysis indicated that SbDUF506 genes composed of one to three exons and introns. Cis-regulatory element analysis indicated that most SbDUF506 genes are associated with responses to abiotic stress. Collectively, the results suggest that gene duplication events markedly enhanced the evolutionary proliferation of the SbDUF506 gene family. Ka/Ks analysis indicated that these genes have predominantly evolved under purifying selection. Furthermore, the expression analysis profiles of the SbDUF506 genes across various tissues and under stress conditions were evaluated via RT-qPCR following heat, salinity, and cold treatments. The results indicated that most SbDUF506 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 DUF506 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.

---

Keywords

---

Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

---