Genome-wide analysis of LEA gene family in Medicago truncatula

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) family proteins are expressed abundantly at the late stage of embryonic development of plant seeds, and play important roles in responding to various environmental stress, such as drought, low temperature and high salinity. At present, the phylogenetic studies of LEA gene family in Medicago truncatula have not been reported yet. In this study, with the application of bioinformatics methods, the LEA family genes of M. truncatula were identified through the whole genome, and the system evolution, gene structure, evolutionary pressure, chromosomal location and gene expression patterns were further analyzed. A total of 23 LEA genes were systematically identified from M. truncatula and classified into 8 subfamilies. Gene location results showed that these 23 LEA genes were distributed unevenly on 7 chromosomes; The exon numbers of all the genes were no more than two, indicating a simple gene structure of this gene family. The expression profiles of M. truncatula LEA genes showed a characteristic of temporal and tissue specific, and regulated by drought stress. This study provides a theoretical foundation for verifying the function of LEA genes in M. truncatula.