Genome-wide identification and tissue expression pattern analysis of TPS gene family in soybean (Glycine max)

The terpene synthase (TPS) plays a pivotal roles in plant growth, development, and enhancing resilience against environmental stresses. Despite this, the bioinformatics analysis of the <i>TPS</i> family gene in soybean (<i>Glycine max</i>) is lacking. In this study, we investigated 36 GmTPS members in soybean, exhibiting a diverse range of protein lengths, spanning from 144 to 835 amino acids. A phylogenetic tree was constructed from these <i>GmTPS</i> genes revealed a classification into five distinct subgroups: Group1, Group2, Group3, Group4 and Group5. Notably, within each subgroup, we identified the motifs of GmTPS proteins were similar, although variations existed among different subfamilies. Gene duplication events analysis demonstrated that <i>TPS</i> genes expand differently in <i>G. max</i>, <i>A. thaliana</i> and <i>O. sativa</i>. Among, both tandem duplication and Whole genome duplication contributive to the expansion of <i>TPS</i> genes in <i>G. max</i>, and Whole genome duplication played a major role. Moreover, the cis-element analysis suggested that <i>TPS</i> is related to hormone signals, plant growth and development and environmental stress. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay results indicated TPS protein may form heterodimer to function, or may form complex with P450 proteins to function. RNA-seq results revealed a higher expression of most <i>GmTPS</i> genes in flowers, suggesting their potential contribution to flower development. Collectively, these findings offer a provide a holistic knowledge of the TPS gene family in soybean and will facilitate further characterization of <i>TPSs</i> effectively.