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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Genome-wide analysis of the CaYABBY family in pepper and functional identification of CaYABBY5 in the regulation of floral determinacy and fruit morphogenesis

Ke Fang1,2, Yi Liu1,2, Zhiquan Wang1,2, Xiang Zhang1,2, Xuexiao Zou1,2, Zhongyi Wang1,2#, Feng Liu1,2#

1 Engineering Research Center for Horticultural Crop Germplasm Creation and New Variety Breeding, Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biology of Hunan Province, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.

2 Yuelushan Laboratory, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.

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Abstract  

Pepper fruit is highly favored for its spicy taste, diverse flavors, and high nutritional value. The proper development of its flower and fruit directly determines the quality of pepper fruit. The YABBY gene family exhibits diverse functions in growth and development, which is crucial to the identity of plant flower organs, but its specific role in pepper is still unclear. In this study, nine CaYABBY genes were identified and characterized in pepper. Most CaYABBY genes were highly expressed in reproductive organs, albeit with varying patterns of expression. The CaYABBY5 gene, uniquely expressed in petals and carpels, has been demonstrated to modulate floral organ determinacy and fruit shape through gene silencing in pepper and ectopic expression in tomato. Protein interaction analysis revealed an interacting protein SEPALLATA3-like protein (SEP3), exhibiting a similar expression profile to that of CaYABBY5. These findings suggest that CaYABBY5 may modulate the morphogenesis of floral organs and fruits by interacting with CaSEP3. This study provided valuable insights into the classification and function of CaYABBY genes in pepper.

Keywords:  YABBY transcription factor              pepper              expression pattern              CaYABBY5              CaSEP3       flower organs development  
Online: 27 March 2025  
Fund: 

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD2300702), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province (2024RC3189), and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Provincial (2024JJ4023).

About author:  Ke Fang, Tel: +86-13040548728, E-mail: fk.wz@stu.hunau.edu.cn; #Correspondence Zhongyi Wang, Tel: +86-0731-84635033, E-mail: wangzhy@hunau.edu.cn; Feng Liu, E-mail: jwszjx@hunau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Ke Fang, Yi Liu, Zhiquan Wang, Xiang Zhang, Xuexiao Zou, Zhongyi Wang, Feng Liu. 2025. Genome-wide analysis of the CaYABBY family in pepper and functional identification of CaYABBY5 in the regulation of floral determinacy and fruit morphogenesis. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.03.025

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