Cloning and Expression Analysis of (Autophagy-Related 8) Gene Family in Solanaceae.

The autophagy-related gene family (Autophagy-related 8) plays an important role in plant growth, development, and stress response. In this study, 15 gene family sequences were amplified from Solanaceae, namely tobacco, tomato, and pepper, using RT-PCR to evaluate their basic properties, protein structure, and function, as well as the role of in autophagy. The physicochemical properties, the predicted secondary and tertiary protein structures, subcellular localisation, gene structures, conserved motifs, and phylogenetic relationships of the genes were analysed using bioinformatic techniques, and their expression patterns under sericin-induced plant disease resistance were investigated by RT-qPCR. The lengths of these proteins ranged from 79 to 120 aa, while their predicted molecular weights and isoelectric points () ranged from 9283.62 to 13,778.74 and 6.32 to 11.44, respectively. The majority of the proteins were localised in the nucleus or chloroplasts. Conserved protein motifs and various cis-regulatory elements in the protein, with a wide range of related functions, were identified. The gene family members showed expression changes after treatment with osthole, which induces disease resistance in tobacco, tomato, and pepper. These findings provide a foundation for further analyses of the gene family in Solanaceae and the mechanism underlying the response to adverse conditions.