Genome-Wide Identification of the KNOX Gene Family in Japanese Apricot ( Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) and Functional Characterization of PmKNAT2 Genes

The gene is crucial for plant morphological development and growth. Physicochemical characteristics, phylogenetic relationships, chromosomal localization, cis-acting elements, and tissue-specific expression patterns of the 11 genes found in the Japanese apricot genome in this study were examined. Proteins of 11 were soluble proteins with isoelectric points between 4.29 and 6.53, molecular masses between 15.732 and 44.011 kDa, and amino acid counts between 140 and 430. The identified gene family was split into three subfamilies by jointly constructing the phylogenetic tree of KNOX proteins in Japanese apricot and . Combined outcomes of the analyzed conserved motifs and gene structures of the 11 genes from the same subfamily displayed comparable gene structure and motif patterns. The 11 members were distributed across six chromosomes, while two sets of genes were found to be collinear. Analysis of the 2000 bp promoter upstream of the coding region of the gene revealed that most genes might be involved in the physiological metabolism, growth and development processes of plants. The gene expression profile revealed that these genes were expressed at varying levels in different tissues, and most of them were linked to the meristems of leaf and flower buds, suggesting that may be involved in plants' apical meristems. In , functional validation of and revealed that these two genes might be involved in regulating leaf and stem development. In addition to laying the groundwork for future research on the function of these genes, understanding the evolutionary relationships between members of the gene family provides opportunities for future breeding in Japanese apricots.