Abstract

GRAS transcription factors are crucial regulators governing plant growth and stress adaptation, yet no systematic genome-wide investigation of the GRAS gene family has been reported for coriander, celery and carrot, three economically and medicinally important Apiaceae vegetables, which creates a critical research gap for comparative and functional genomics in Apiales. Here, we performed a multi-tiered bioinformatic pipeline integrating gene identification, phylogenetic classification, chromosomal mapping, gene duplication analysis, transcriptome profiling, co-expression network construction and large-scale evolutionary tracing across 406 plant genomes. In total, 87, 74 and 74 GRAS genes were identified from coriander, celery and carrot, respectively, which were divided into 13 subfamilies. WGD/segmental duplication drove GRAS expansion in coriander and carrot, while dispersed duplication dominated in celery. Tissue-specific expression and cross-TF regulatory networks uncovered core GRAS hub genes participating in developmental and stress pathways. Wide-range phylogeny further validated that GRAS genes originated from Zygnematophyceae algae and massively expanded in Penium margaritaceum. This study fills the research gap of GRAS family analysis in Apiaceae, provides abundant high-throughput data resources, and offers fundamental evolutionary clues for future functional verification and genetic improvement of horticultural crops.

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