Characteristics of the () Genes in Carrot Provides Insight into Their Role in Plant Growth and Storage Root Development.

The gene family, controlling various developmental processes, is conserved in land plants. They comprise Plant and Prokaryote Conserved (PPC) domain and one or two AT-hook motifs. has been proposed as a candidate gene governing the formation of the carrot storage root. We identified and in-silico characterized carrot AHL proteins, performed phylogenetic analyses, investigated their expression profiles and constructed gene coexpression networks. We found 47 genes in carrot and grouped them into two clades, A and B, comprising 29 and 18 genes, respectively. Within Clade-A, we distinguished three subclades, one of them grouping noncanonical differing in their structure (two PPC domains) and/or cellular localization (not nucleus). Coexpression network analysis attributed expressed in carrot roots into four of the 72 clusters, some of them showing a large number of interactions. Determination of expression profiles of genes in various tissues and samples provided basis to hypothesize on their possible roles in the development of the carrot storage root. We identified a group of rapidly evolving noncanonical , possibly differing functionally from typical , as suggested by their expression profiles and their predicted cellular localization. We pointed at several likely involved in the development of the carrot storage root.