Analysis of the Auxin Response Factor 5 (ARF5) Gene in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and its Expression Pattern During Bolting in Response to High Temperature

Bolting is currently a major problem in achieving true annual production of lettuce.The ARF5 gene is associated with a high temperature bolting mechanism, and the full-length cDNA sequence of the LsARF5 gene was obtained by cloning and was analyzed by biology-related software.Moreover, real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to amplify the target gene, which further demonstrated that the gene is associated with bolting.The difference in expression levels of the LsARF5 gene at different temperatures was analysed.Sequence analysis indicated that the open reading frame was 2517 bp and encoded 838 amino acids.In addition, qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression of the gene was downregulated in varieties susceptible to bolting under high temperature treatment.Together, the results indicate that the LsARF5 gene may have an effect on lettuce bolting.