ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Genome-wide characterization of the HpHsf gene family and expression analysis under heat stress in Herpetospermum pedunculosum
Provisionally accepted
- 1Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
- 2Sichuan Liangyuan Food Co., Ltd., Bazhong, China
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Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) are key regulators of plant responses to heat stress and other environmental challenges. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide identification and characterization of the Hsf gene family in Herpetospermum pedunculosum, an alpine medicinal plant with hepatoprotective properties. A total of 21 HpHsf genes were identified, and their physicochemical properties, chromosomal locations, phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, gene structures, protein domains, and cis-regulatory elements were systematically analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis classified the HpHsfs into three main groups (A, B, and C), consistent with classifications in other plant species. Furthermore, expression profiling under heat stress revealed significant upregulation of several HpHsfs, suggesting their involvement in heat stress response. Subcellular localization assays of three representative proteins (HpHsf3, HpHsf5, and HpHsf17) in Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells confirmed their nuclear localization, supporting their function as transcription factors. These findings provide valuable insights into the HpHsf gene family and lay a foundation for future functional studies on heat tolerance in alpine plants.
Keywords: Herpetospermum pedunculosum, Heat shock transcription factors, gene family, Heat stress, expression profiling
Received: 09 Sep 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Liang, Sun, Yang, Qin, Zhao, Li and Tao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yang Tao
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