# Conservation and Divergence of PEPC Gene Family in Different Ploidy Bamboos

## TL;DR

This study explores the PEPC gene family in bamboo, revealing its conservation and divergence across different ploidy levels and shedding light on its role in growth and stress response.

## Contribution

The paper identifies 62 PEPC genes in bamboo and provides insights into their evolutionary patterns and potential functions.

## Key findings

- Bamboo PEPC genes are grouped into twelve clusters with fewer members in Olyra latifolia compared to other species.
- Fragment and whole genome replication drive PEPC gene expansion, with evidence of purifying selection.
- Certain PEPC genes show high expression in leaves and respond to GA treatment, suggesting roles in growth and stress.

## Abstract

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), as a necessary enzyme for higher plants to participate in photosynthesis, plays a key role in photosynthetic carbon metabolism and the stress response. However, the molecular biology of the PEPC family of Bambusoideae has been poorly studied, and the function of its members in the growth and development of Bambusoideae is still unclear. Here, we identified a total of 62 PEPC family members in bamboo. All the PEPC genes in the bamboo subfamily were divided into twelve groups, each group typically containing significantly fewer PEPC members in Olyra latifolia than in Phyllostachys edulis, Dendrocalamus latiflorus and Dendrocalamus brandisii. The results of an intraspecific and interspecies collinearity analysis showed that fragment replication and whole genome replication were the main driving forces of bamboo PEPC members. Furthermore, the Ka/Ks values of collinear genes showed that bamboo PEPC experienced purification selection. In addition, the promoter region of PEPC genes contains cis-acting elements related to light response, plant hormone response and response to stress. An analysis of the expression levels of the PEPC family in different developmental stages and tissues of bamboo shoots has shown that PhePEPC7, PhePEPC9 and PhePEPC10 were highly expressed in the leaves of non-flowering plants and culms. Furthermore, PhePEPC6 was significantly upregulated in leaves after GA treatment. Further research has shown that PhePEPC6 was mainly localized in the cell membrane. This provides a solid bioinformatics foundation for further understanding the biological functions of the bamboo PEPC family.