Cysteine-Rich Receptor-Like Kinase Gene Family Identification in the Phaseolus Genome and Comparative Analysis of Their Expression Profiles Specific to Mycorrhizal and Rhizobial Symbiosis.

Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) are conserved upstream signaling molecules that regulate several biological processes, including plant development and stress adaptation. Cysteine (C)-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) are an important class of RLK that play vital roles in disease resistance and cell death in plants. Genome-wide analyses of genes have been carried out in and rice, while functional characterization of some CRKs has been carried out in wheat and tomato in addition to . A comprehensive analysis of the gene family in leguminous crops has not yet been conducted, and our understanding of their roles in symbiosis is rather limited. Here, we report the comprehensive analysis of the gene family, including identification, sequence similarity, phylogeny, chromosomal localization, gene structures, transcript expression profiles, and in silico promoter analysis. Forty-six CRK homologs were identified and phylogenetically clustered into five groups. Expression analysis suggests that genes are differentially expressed in both vegetative and reproductive tissues. Further, transcriptomic analysis revealed that shared and unique genes were upregulated during arbuscular mycorrhizal and rhizobial symbiosis. Overall, the systematic analysis of the gene family provides valuable information for further studies on the biological roles of in various tissues during diverse biological processes, including -mycorrhiza/rhizobia symbiosis.