Identification and Expression Analysis of Growth-regulating factors Gene Family in Cucurbita moschata

Growth-regulating factors（GRFs）, a type of plant-specific transcription factors, have been demonstrated to be involved in various biological processes, including leaf growth, floral organ development, and phytohormone signal transduction. In this study, GRF gene family members in Cucurbita moschata were identified using bioinformatic methods. Their encoded proteins were characterized with respect to physicochemical properties, chromosomal localization, gene structure, evolutionary tree construction, collinearity and cis-acting elements within promoter regions. The expression patterns of CmoGRF genes across different tissues were further analyzed based on RNA-seq data. A total of 14 CmoGRF genes were identified and distributed across 11 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into four subgroups. Eleven collinear gene pairs were detected within the CmoGRF family, although no tandem duplicates were observed. Interspecies collinearity analysis revealed that nine CmoGRF genes had syntenic counterparts in Arabidopsis thaliana, while five were homologous to genes in Oryza sativa. Within the promoters of CmoGRFs, five types of phytohormone-responsive elements, four metabolic regulatory elements, four protein-binding sites, and three cis-acting elements associated with defense and stress responses were identified. The relative expression levels of the 14 CmoGRFs genes varied significantly across different tissues. Expression pattern analysis of CmoGRF1, CmoGRF12, and CmoGRF13 revealed that CmoGRF1 was highly expressed under induction by 6-BA, methyl jasmonate, and zeatin; CmoGRF12 was highly expressed under methyl jasmonate induction; and CmoGRF13 showed significantly increased expression under treatments with abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate. Overall, these results lay a foundation for further research on the functional characteristics and molecular mechanisms of the GRF gene family in Cucurbita moschaa, providing a theoretical foundation and new gene resources for the breeding of pumpkin.