ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Bioinformatics
Genome-wide identification and functional characterization of the KWL gene family in three Oryza species
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China
- 2Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chongqing, China
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The Kiwellin (KWL) gene family, although previously implicated in plant stress responses, remains poorly characterized in rice. This study performs a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the KWL family across three rice species: Oryza sativa ssp. japonica (Os), O. sativa ssp. indica (Osi), and O. rufipogon (Or). We identified 33 KWL genes (9 in Os, 12 in Osi, and 12 in Or) and conducted systematic analyses of their phylogeny, gene structures, conserved motifs, and chromosomal localization. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that KWL proteins were highly conserved within rice species but distinct from their maize and tomato orthologs. Promoter cis-element analysis revealed a significant enrichment of elements associated with biotic/abiotic stress responses and phytohormone signaling. Expression profiling demonstrated that most family members exhibited low or tissue-specific expression, with OsKWL1 and OsKWL2 exhibiting marked responsiveness to ABA and JA treatments in roots and shoots, respectively. Subcellular localization experiments confirmed that both OsKWL1 and OsKWL2 proteins were localized to the cytoplasm. Furthermore, yeast assays revealed that OsKWL1 possessed strong autoactivation activity. Taken together, this study establishes a foundational framework for future functional investigations of the KWL family in rice.
Keywords: KWL, genome-wideidentification, evolutionaryrelationships, phytohormone response, rice
Received: 17 Sep 2025; Accepted: 04 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Liu, Xin, Chen and Zhou. 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: Haitao Zhou, show19830623@aliyun.com
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