Genome-Wide Identification of the Gene Family in Wax Gourd () and Functional Characterization of during Fruit Development.

The wax gourd () is an important vegetable crop whose fruits contain nutrients and metabolites. () genes constitute the largest early auxin-responsive gene family and regulate various biological processes in plants, although this gene family has not been studied in the wax gourd. Here, we performed genome-wide identification of the gene family in wax gourds and analyzed their syntenic and phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, conserved motifs, -acting elements, and expression patterns. A total of 68 () genes were identified, which were distributed on nine chromosomes with 41 genes in two clusters. More than half of the genes were derived from tandem duplication events. The BhSAUR proteins were classified into seven subfamilies. gene promoters contained -acting elements involved in plant hormone and environmental signal responses. Further expression profiles showed that genes displayed different expression patterns. was highly expressed in fruits, and overexpression led to longer fruits in . In addition, the plants with overexpression displayed longer floral organs and wavy stems. In conclusion, our results provide a systematic analysis of the wax gourd gene family and facilitate the functional study of during wax gourd fruit development.