Functional Characterization of the Versatile MYB Gene Family Uncovered Their Important Roles in Plant Development and Responses to Drought and Waterlogging in Sesame.

The gene family constitutes one of the largest transcription factors (TFs) modulating various biological processes in plants. Although genome-wide analysis of this gene family has been carried out in some species, only three members have been functionally characterized heretofore in sesame ( L.). Here, we identified a relatively high number (287) of sesame genes () with an uncommon overrepresentation of the 1R-subfamily. A total of 95% of was mapped unevenly onto the 16 linkage groups of the sesame genome with 55 tandemly duplicated. In addition, molecular characterization, gene structure, and evolutionary relationships of were established. Based on the close relationship between sesame and , we uncovered that the functions of are highly diverse. A total of 65% of were commonly detected in five tissues, suggesting that they represent key TFs modulating sesame growth and development. Moreover, we found that regulate sesame responses to drought and waterlogging, which highlights the potential of towards improving stress tolerance in sesame. This work presents a comprehensive picture of the gene family in sesame and paves the way for further functional validation of the members of this versatile gene family.