–Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the CesA/Csls Gene Family in Eucalyptus Grandis

Rui An¹Yingtong Huang¹Chunxia Lei¹Aimin Wu¹Chunjie Fan²Jianmei Long^1*

• ¹South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
• ²Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Guangzhou, China

The cellulose synthase gene superfamily was comprised of two major gene families, cellulose synthase (CesA) and cellulose synthase-like (Csl). These genes were involved in the cellulose and hemicellulose synthesis in cell wall in plants, and played an essential role in controlling plant growth and development. However, the CesA/Csls gene family has not been previously reported in Eucalyptus grandis. Therefore, the present study employed bioinformatics methods to identify the CesA/Csls gene family in E. grandis, and to analyse the potential functions of its members in cell wall formation. The results showed that there were 62 CesA/Csls family members in E. grandis, which were categorized into seven subfamilies (CesA, CslA, CslB, CslC, CslD, CslE, CslG) based on evolutionary tree analysis. Various cis-acting elements were detected in the promoter regions, of which the light-responsive elements were the most abundant. Gene expression pattern analysis demonstrated that EgCesA4, EgCesA7, and EgCesA8 were highly expressed in the xylem, possibly primarily associated with cellulose synthesis during the secondary wall thickening (lignification). Taken together, the analysis of the EgCesA/Csls gene family provided a reference point for the cellulose synthesis of the cell wall, genetic improvement and biotechnology application.