Genome-wide identification, bioinformatics and expression analysis of HD-Zip gene family in peach

Background HD-Zips (Homeodomain-Leucine Zippers) are a class of plant-specific transcription factors that play multiple roles in plant growth and development. Although some functions of HD-Zip transcription factor have been reported in several plants, it has not been comprehensively studied in peach, especially during adventitious root formation of peach cuttings. Results In this study, 23 HD-Zip genes distributed on 6 chromosomes were identified from the peach ( Prunus persica ) genome, and named PpHDZ01-23 according to their positions on the chromosomes. These 23 PpHDZ transcription factors all contained a homeomorphism box domain and a leucine zipper domain, were divided into 4 subfamilies(I-IV) according to the evolutionary analysis, and their promoters contained many different cis-acting elements. Spatio-temporal expression pattern showed that these genes were expressed in many tissues with different levels, and they had distinct expression pattern during adventitious root formation and development. Conclusion Our results showed the roles of PpHDZs on root formation, which is helpful to better understand the classification and function of peach HD-Zip genes.