ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Bioinformatics
This article is part of the Research TopicMultiomics Advances: Bridging Gaps in Understanding Intricate Biological SystemsView all articles
Genome wide identification of Serotonin N-acetyltransferase (PbSNAT) gene family and their role in pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) fruit development
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanxi Datong University, Datong, China
- 2Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- 3Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences Haikou Experimental Station, Haikou, China
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Serotonin N-acetyltransferase (SNAT) catalyzes a critical step in phytomelatonin biosynthesis. Despite its importance, the SNAT genes family has remained uncharacterized in the economically vital pear species, Pyrus bretschneideri. Here, we identified 51 SNAT genes (PbSNAT1–51) from the pear genome. Phylogenetic analysis classified the PbSNAT proteins into six distinct clades. Physicochemical features revealed that most PbSNATs are hydrophobic and chloroplast-localized. Motif and gene structure analyses showed high conservation within clades, supporting the phylogenetic grouping. Promoter and Gene Ontology (GO) analyses indicated that PbSNAT genes are highly responsive to stress and are involved in chloroplast development and indole acetic acid metabolism. Expression profiling demonstrated tissue-specific patterns, suggesting roles in organ development. Furthermore, the widespread expression of PbSNAT genes across five pear cultivars at various fruit developmental stages underscores their crucial function. The strong expression of PbSNAT1 during fruit development implicates its role fruit setting and ripening. Furthermore, the high abundance of both SNAT and MT in pericarp and pulp tissues, along with its correlation with PbSNAT46, suggests a broader, coordinated role for SNAT-mediated pear fruit development. This study provides the first comprehensive functional insight into the PbSNAT gene family, establishing a valuable foundation for future molecular breeding in pear.
Keywords: Bioinformatic analysis, Fruit development, gene family, PbSNAT, Pear
Received: 14 Dec 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Chen, Zuo, Gul, Chen and Ali. 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:
Xiangyu Zuo
Ahmad Ali
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