Pan-genome wide identification and expression analysis of the OFP family genes in response to abiotic and biotic stresses in cucumber

Ovate family proteins (OFPs), comprising a recently characterized family of transcriptional repressors, contribute to various plant growth and developmental processes. However, systematic research on the OFP gene family in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is still lacking. In this work, we conducted a pan-genome-wide identification of the OFP gene family in cucumber, and the chromosomal locations, gene structure and protein properties, cis-elements, collinearity and phylogenetic relationship of the CsOFP family members were analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis classified the cucumber OFP proteins into nine distinct subgroups, with members of the same clade sharing similar motif arrangements. Notably, all CsOFP genes lack introns except for CsOFP15 and CsOFP20. Expression analysis identified distinct transcriptional patterns for CsOFP genes, including tissue-specific accumulation (notably in roots, ovaries, and flowers) and differential expression under diverse abiotic (cold, heat, salt) and biotic (powdery mildew, root-knot nematode, downy mildew) stresses. These findings presented here will help to understand the functions of CsOFP genes in cucumber development, growth, and stress response.