Genome-wide characterization of the GASA gene family in Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J.Houz.: Evolutionary patterns and functional implications in growth and hormone signaling

The Gibberellin-Stimulated Arabidopsis (GASA) gene family encodes small, secreted peptides transcriptionally regulated by gibberellin (GA). These play vital roles in plant growth, development, stress tolerance and hormone signaling. Although GASA families have been identified in many model plants, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of this family has not yet been reported in Moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ), the most economically valuable bamboo species, which is known for its rapid growth. In this study, 11 GASA genes were identified from the Moso bamboo genome using bioinformatics tools. Their physicochemical properties, phylogeny, collinearity, chromosomal distribution, gene structure, conserved motifs, protein tertiary structures and cis -regulatory components were analyzed comprehensively. Transcriptome data were adopted to investigated their expression patterns during rapid shoot elongation and in response to exogenous hormones. The results suggest that several PeGASA genes may contribute to the rapid elongation of bamboo shoots, and some PeGASAs appear to respond to GA and NAA induction. These findings are based on transcriptomic and regulatory element analyses; functional validation remains to be performed. Furthermore, transcription factors associated with the regulation of GASA genes were predicted, and we constructed a preliminary heatmap of the GASA-related regulatory network. Our work presents a crucial theoretical framework that will assist advancing functional evolutionary investigations involving the GASA gene family in Moso bamboo and the complete genome. Additionally, it establishes a framework for the effective identification of GASA genes associated with stress tolerance and hormone responsiveness, with implications for bamboo and other grass species improvement.