# Genome-Wide Identification and Systematic Analysis of the HSF Gene Family in Capparis spinosa and Its Expression Under High Temperature

## TL;DR

This study identifies and analyzes the HSF gene family in the desert plant Capparis spinosa and explores its role in responding to high-temperature stress.

## Contribution

The study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the HSF gene family in the desert plant Capparis spinosa.

## Key findings

- The CsHSF family contains 24 genes distributed across 14 chromosomes with three distinct types.
- Eight CsHSF genes show significant regulatory roles in response to high-temperature stress.
- CsHSF genes exhibit collinearity with Arabidopsis and contain 605 cis-elements related to stress and development.

## Abstract

The heat shock transcription factor is a critical transcription factor gene family in plant response to biotic and abiotic stress, especially in regulating high-temperature stress. While this gene family has been extensively characterized and investigated across a broad range of plant species, research focusing on desert plants with extreme stress tolerance remains relatively scarce. Therefore, this study aimed at the desert plant Capparis spinosa, conducted the whole genome identification of its HSF gene family, and performed a comprehensive systematic analysis including gene structure, chromosome localization, systematic evolution, gene collinearity, and other characteristics. The results showed that the CsHSF family contains 24 genes that are distributed on 14 chromosomes. It has three types, as usual, and different types of genes contain specific conserved motifs. The CsHSF genes exhibit concentrated collinearity with Arabidopsis thaliana, and upstream of the genes, there are 605 cis-elements in response to growth and development, stress, and hormones. On this basis, heatmaps and co-expression networks were drawn based on the reported gene expression in different growth regions of the Capparis spinosa genome. The results demonstrated that certain genes exhibit distinct expression patterns across different growth regions and have close interrelationships with each other. Further transcriptome sequencing and analysis were performed on the leaves of wild Capparis spinosa exposed to high-temperature stress, and the exploration of differential expression of the CsHSF genes revealed that 8 genes play significant regulatory roles in response to heat stress. The results of this research can provide valuable insights into the function and mechanism of the HSF gene family in desert plants, as well as a reference for the analysis of stress resistance mechanisms in desert plants. The obtained genes can supply candidate genes for subsequent functional verification and mechanism analysis.