C2H2 Zinc-Finger Transcription Factors Coordinate Hormone-Stress Crosstalk to Shape Expression Bias of the Flavonoid Pathway in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.).

ABSTRACT: C2H2-type zinc-finger transcription factors (ZFPs) play essential roles in plant stress signaling and development; however, their putative functions in safflower have not been systematically characterized. Leveraging the reference genome of the safflower cultivar 'Jihong-1' (Carthamus tinctorius L.), we investigated the C2H2 family and identified 62 CtC2H2 genes. Comparative phylogeny with Arabidopsis revealed six subfamilies characterized by shared features such as exon-intron organization and conserved QALGGH motif. Promoter analysis identified multiple light- and hormone-responsive cis-elements (e.g., G-box, Box 4, GT1-motif, ABRE, CGTCA/TGACG), suggesting potential multi-layered regulation. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analysis identified tissue-specific candidate genes, with C

SUBMITTER: Chang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12731760 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature