Genome-Wide Analysis, Evolutionary History and Response of Family to Phosphate Starvation in .

Low phosphorus (P) availability is one of the major constraints to plant growth, particularly in acidic soils. A possible mechanism for enhancing the use of sparsely soluble P forms is the secretion of malate in plants by the aluminum-activated malate transporter (ALMT) gene family. Despite its significance in plant biology, the identification of the gene family in oilseed rape (; ), an allotetraploid crop, is unveiled. Herein, we performed genome-wide identification and characterization of in , determined their gene expression in different tissues and monitored transcriptional regulation of in the roots and leaves at both a sufficient and a deficient P supply. Thirty-nine genes were identified and were clustered into five branches in the phylogenetic tree based on protein sequences. Collinearity analysis revealed that most of the genes shared syntenic relationships among members in , which suggested that whole-genome duplication (polyploidy) played a major driving force for evolution in addition to segmental duplication. RNA-seq analyses showed that most genes were preferentially expressed in root and leaf tissues. Among them, the expression of , , , , , , , , , , were significantly up-regulated in roots and leaf at a P deficient supply. The current study analyzes the evolution and the expression of the ALMT family in , which will help in further research on their role in the enhancement of soil P availability by secretion of organic acids.