Genome-Wide Identification, Evolution, and Expression Pattern Analysis of the LEA Gene Family in Tartary Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum)
Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins are highly conserved hydrophilic proteins essential for plant growth, development and abiotic stress responses; to explore the LEA gene family in Fagopyrum tataricum (tartary buckwheat), a series of bioinformatics methods were used for genome-wide identification: first, F. tataricum whole-genome and protein sequences were retrieved from public databases, while LEA gene family hidden Markov model (HMM) profiles from Pfam were used for homologous search via HMMER 3.0 (E-value = 1e-5), supplemented by BLASTp with model plant LEA sequences as queries (E-value = 1e-5, identity = 30%); subsequent strict filtering included conserved domain verification via SMART and NCBI CDD, basic physical and chemical property analysis via ExPASy ProtParam, and genome mapping via BLASTn to exclude false positives and ensure complete gene structures, finally resulting in the reliable identification of 53 LEA gene family members ( named according to its subfamily category), which are unevenly distributed on F. tataricum chromosomes and can be classified into different subfamilies, laying a foundation for further research on their functions and stress tolerance roles in tartary buckwheat.Lea gene family expression pattern and signal generation analysis in Tartary buckwheat can be found in https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-026-12772-1
Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins are highly conserved hydrophilic proteins essential for plant growth, development and abiotic stress responses; to explore the LEA gene family in Fagopyrum tataricum (tartary buckwheat), a series of bioinformatics methods were used for genome-wide identification: first, F. tataricum whole-genome and protein sequences were retrieved from public databases, while LEA gene family hidden Markov model (HMM) profiles from Pfam were used for homologous search via HMMER 3.0 (E-value = 1e-5), supplemented by BLASTp with model plant LEA sequences as queries (E-value = 1e-5, identity = 30%); subsequent strict filtering included conserved domain verification via SMART and NCBI CDD, basic physical and chemical property analysis via ExPASy ProtParam, and genome mapping via BLASTn to exclude false positives and ensure complete gene structures, finally resulting in the reliable identification of 53 LEA gene family members ( named according to its subfamily category), which are unevenly distributed on F. tataricum chromosomes and can be classified into different subfamilies, laying a foundation for further research on their functions and stress tolerance roles in tartary buckwheat.Lea gene family expression pattern and signal generation analysis in Tartary buckwheat can be found in https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-026-12772-1
Guizhou Subcenter of National Wheat Improvement Center