ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Cold Tolerance and Stress in PlantsView all 12 articles
Identification of E2F/DP Gene Family and their Expression Analysis under Cold Stress in Rice
Provisionally accepted
Yaojia Ma1,2,3Shujing Mu2,3Jun Zhao2,3Jiarui Han1,2,3Mo Zhu2,3Qi Wang2,3
Mojun Chen2,3Rihua Piao2,3Fanmei Meng2,3Xin Wang1,2,3Changhong Xu2Hongguang Ju1*Yongfeng Yan1,2,3*
Xiangguo Liu1,2,3*- 1Yanbian University, Yanji, China
- 2Institute of Rice Research/ Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Northeast Innovation Center of Agricultural Science and Technology in China), Changchun, China
- 3Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, ChangChun, China
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The rice E2F/DP gene family plays a crucial role in regulating the cell cycle and responses to environmental stresses. In this study, we identified and analyzed eight members of the rice E2F/DP gene family (OsE2F1 to OsE2F8) using the RiceSuperPIRdb database. Each protein contains the conserved E2F_TDP domain. Phylogenetic analysis classified the E2F/DP proteins into three groups. Physicochemical property analysis revealed that the E2F/DP proteins are hydrophilic, with varying amino acid lengths, isoelectric points, and molecular weights, and are primarily localized in the nucleus and chloroplast. Chromosomal localization indicated that these genes are distributed across six rice chromosomes. Gene structure analysis revealed diverse exon-intron arrangements, while motif analysis identified 10 conserved motifs. Collinearity analysis showed gene duplication events, suggesting purifying selection. Cis-regulatory element analysis indicated their involvement in abiotic stress responses. The protein–protein interaction analysis revealed that most OsE2F/DP proteins are associated with cell cycle regulation and transcriptional control. Expression analysis revealed tissue-specific expression patterns and differential expression under various stress conditions. Specifically, qRT-PCR validation under cold stress showed that some E2F/DP genes were upregulated at 12 hours and downregulated at 24 hours, indicating their potential role in cold tolerance. These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of the roles of the rice E2F/DP gene family in development and stress responses.
Keywords: Bioinformatics5, Cold stress4, E2F/DP gene family2, Phylogenetic analysis3, Rice (Oryza sativa L.)1
Received: 21 Nov 2025; Accepted: 20 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ma, Mu, Zhao, Han, Zhu, Wang, Chen, Piao, Meng, Wang, Xu, Ju, Yan and Liu. 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:
Hongguang Ju
Yongfeng Yan
Xiangguo Liu
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