Identification and Bioinformatic Analysis of the Family in Soybean and Investigation of Their Expression in Response to Gibberellic Acid and Abscisic Acid.

Seed germination is one of the most important stages during plant life cycle, and () plays a pivotal regulatory role in seed dormancy and germination. In this study, we have identified the () family in soybean (), a staple oil crop worldwide, and investigated their chromosomal distribution, structure and expression patterns. The results showed that the family is composed of 40 members, which can be divided into six subgroups, according to their evolutionary relationship with other known genes. These are distributed on 18 of 20 chromosomes in the soybean genome and the number of exons for all the 40 varied greatly. Members of the different subgroups possess a similar motif structure composition. qRT-PCR assay showed that the expression patterns of different were significantly altered in various tissues, and some expressed primarily in soybean seeds. Gibberellic acid (GA) remarkably inhibited the expression of most of , whereas Abscisic acid (ABA) inhibited some of the expression while promoting others. It is speculated that some regulate seed dormancy and germination by directly or indirectly relating to ABA and GA pathways, with complex interaction networks. This study provides an important theoretical basis for further investigation about the regulatory roles of family on soybean seed germination.