Genome-wide analysis of the SCPL gene family in grape (Vitis vinifera L.)

Serine carboxypeptidase-like (SCPL) proteins are a group of acyltransferase enzymes that have important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. Although SCPL proteins have been studied in many plants, the biological functions of SCPL genes in grape are still unknown. In this study, 59 putative SCPL proteins were identified from the grape genome. A bioinformatics analysis, including chromosomal locations, exon/intron structures, phylogeny, cis-elements, and conserved motifs, was performed for the gene family. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that VvSCPL proteins could be classified into three groups, with the gene motifs in each group showing high similarity levels. The number of exons in the VvSCPL genes ranged from 1 to 19, suggesting significant variations among grape SCPL genes. The expression of the VvSCPL genes, as assessed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and quantitative real-time PCR, showed that most VvSCPL genes responded to drought- and waterlogging-stress treatments, which indicated their roles in abiotic stress responses. The results provide useful information for further study of SCPL genes in grape.