Identification and expression profiling of the GRAS gene family reveals candidate genes for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in lentil
Ali F. Zhao Y. Shah O.U. Nadeem M.A. Baloch F.S. Madenova A. Kabylbekova B. Soltanbekov S. Liao L. Wang Z.
December 2026BioMed Central Ltd
BMC Plant Biology
2026#26Issue 1
Background: Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is a widely cultivated food legume that is vulnerable to a variety of abiotic stressors, which can impair its growth and development and ultimately reduce yields. Some genes that confer resistance to abiotic stressors have already been identified and characterized. The GRAS gene family comprises transcriptional factors that play diverse roles in plant growth, development, and abiotic stress tolerance. Despite extensive studies in other crops, the GRAS gene family has not been characterized in lentil. Results: This study identified 50 members of the GRAS gene family in lentils, distributed across seven chromosomes and classified into nine distinct subfamilies. Additionally, 13 duplication events were identified, comprising two tandem gene pairs and 11 segmental gene pairs. Synteny analysis discovered that segmental duplication predominated over tandem duplication among the GRAS genes. Based on RNA-Seq data, 10 genes exhibiting higher expression levels across various lentil plant tissues and developmental stages were selected for RT-qPCR analysis to validate these genes. Ten LcGRAS genes from five subfamilies - DELLA (LcGRAS34), PAT1 (LcGRAS01, LcGRAS02, LcGRAS04, LcGRAS18, LcGRAS11), LISCL (LcGRAS41, LcGRAS25), SCR (LcGRAS31), and HAM (LcGRAS40) - exhibited a significant response to abiotic stresses such as chromium, salt, and drought, as demonstrated by qRT-PCR analysis. It was hypothesized that members of the LcGRAS family play a crucial role in stress tolerance, as the expression of LcGRAS04, LcGRAS11, and LcGRAS25 genes from the PAT1 and LISCL subfamilies was significantly up-regulated at specific time points during the treatment period. Conclusions: In addition to providing valuable insights into the evolutionary dynamics of the LcGRAS gene family, our research lays the groundwork for future studies on the functional activities of GRAS genes in lentils.
Genome-wide analysis , Phylogenetic analysis , qRT-PCR , Transcriptional factors
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School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Sanya, 572025, China
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mersin University, Mersin, 33343, Turkey
Department of Plant Resources and Environment, Jeju National University, Jeju, 63243, South Korea
Kazakh Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication)
School of Agriculture and Biology
Department of Biotechnology
Department of Plant Resources and Environment
Kazakh Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute
Kazakh National Agrarian Research University
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