ZF-HD transcription factors, which are unique to land plants, are involved in the regulation of abiotic stress response and related signaling pathways, and play a crucial role in plant growth and development.
Dendrobium is one of the largest genera of orchids, with a
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ZF-HD transcription factors, which are unique to land plants, are involved in the regulation of abiotic stress response and related signaling pathways, and play a crucial role in plant growth and development.
Dendrobium is one of the largest genera of orchids, with a high ornamental and ecological value. However, the specific functions of the
ZF-HDs in
Dendrobium remain unknown. In this study, we identified a total of 53
ZF-HDs from
D. chrysotoxum (17),
D. catenatum (23), and
D. huoshanense (13), and analyzed their physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, chromosomal locations, protein structures, conserved motifs, and expression patterns. The phylogenetic relationships revealed that 53
ZF-HDs were classified into six subfamilies (ZHDI–V and MIF), and all ZF-HD proteins contained motif 1 and motif 4 conserved domains, while a minority of these proteins had exons. The analysis of
cis-elements in the promoters of
ZF-HDs from three
Dendrobium species showed that growth- and development-related elements were the most prevalent, followed by hormone response and abiotic stress response elements. Through collinearity analysis, 14
DchZF-HDs were found to be collinear with
DhuZF-HDs, and 12
DchZF-HDs were found to be collinear with
DcaZF-HDs. Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis revealed that
DchZF-HDs play a regulatory role in the development of lateral organs during the flowering process. The results indicated that
DchZHD2 plays a role in the unpigmented bud stage, while
DchMIF8 and
DchZHD16 play significant roles during the pigmented bud and initial bloom stages. Hence, this study provides a crucial basis for further exploring
ZF-HDs functions in regulating the floral organs of orchids.
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