Genome-Wide Identification of the ZF-HD Gene Family in Melon and Functional Characterization of CmZHD8 in Salt Stress Tolerance
Weiyi Bi, Huichun Xu, Tai Liu, Zhiqiang Du, Xiuyuan Liu, Xixi Hu, Lei Zhu, Ye Che, Ling Zhang, Na Li, Mo Han, Guochao Qi, Tienan Zhang, Di Wang
TL;DR
This study identifies and characterizes ZF-HD genes in melon, highlighting CmZHD8's role in improving salt stress tolerance.
Contribution
The first genome-wide analysis of the ZF-HD gene family in melon and functional validation of CmZHD8 under salt stress.
Findings
Thirteen CmZF-HD genes were identified and classified into five subfamilies.
CmZHD8 expression increased 26-fold under salt stress and enhanced salt tolerance in yeast.
Gene expansion was driven by duplication events with strong purifying selection.
Abstract
Zinc finger homeodomain (ZF-HD) proteins are critical for plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic stress, yet systematic research on the ZF-HD gene family in melon (Cucumis melo L.) remains limited. This study performed a genome-wide characterization of the melon ZF-HD family, followed by functional validation of CmZHD8 under salt stress. Thirteen CmZF-HD genes were identified, unevenly distributed across eight chromosomes, and classified into five subfamilies (ZHD I–IV, MIF), with no ZHD V members, consistent with the classification of cucumber. Family expansion was primarily driven by dispersed and tandem duplication events, with duplicated genes undergoing strong purifying selection (Ka/Ks < 1). Most CmZF-HD promoters contained ABA- and MeJA-responsive cis-acting element and displayed tissue-specific expression patterns. RT-qPCR analysis showed that CmZHD8 expression was…
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
Click any figure to enlarge with its caption.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsMacrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor · Mechanisms of cancer metastasis · Signaling Pathways in Disease