Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of auxin response factor(ARF) gene family in strawberry(Fragaria vesca)

Auxin signaling plays a significant role in the whole process of plant growth and development from embryogenesis to senescence. Auxin response factors(ARFs) are reported to regulate the expression of auxin response genes by binding to auxin response elements. ARF is the most critical transcription factor family which has been released in most species, but few reports in strawberry. In this study, the structure characterization of 12 FvARF genes in strawberry, their expression patterns at different development stages, different organizations, and different indole-3-acetic acid(IAA) treatments were analyzed. The expression of 12 FvARFs was found in all experiment tissues and showed almost the same trend during fruit development. All FvARFs respond to the treatment of IAA. Our study provides comprehensive information on ARF family in strawberry, including gene structures, chromosome locations, phylogenetic relationships and expression patterns. The information on FvARF genes paves the way for future research on strawberry ARF genes.