{
  "abstract": "The B3 superfamily is one of the largest plant transcription factor gene families, yet its evolutionary dynamics in dioecious species like Cannabis sativa remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenetic, molecular evolution, and transcriptomic analysis of B3 domain-containing genes in Arabidopsis thaliana , C. sativa , and Humulus lupulus . Using a gene mining pipeline, we identified 110, 101, and 88 B3 genes across the five established subfamilies ( ARF , ABI3 , HSI , RAV , and REM), respectively. We identified two distinct evolutionary trajectories with the B3 superfamily. On the one hand the REM subfamily was by far the largest and characterized by massive lineage-specific tandem duplications subjected to relaxed selective constraint, suggesting distinct or partially redundant roles in reproductive development. On the other hand, specific non-tandem clades remained highly conserved under strong purifying selection. Detailed analysis of the candidate sex-determination gene CsREM16 showed low dN/dS ratios, clear one-to-one orthology across studied species, and unique persistent sex-biased expression across all six analyzed developmental stages in C. sativa . Comparative analysis of its ortholog HlREM16 confirmed a conserved female-biased expression in H. lupulus . Together, these results demonstrate a dual-mode evolutionary dynamic in the B3 superfamily and particularly in the REM genes and establish CsREM16 as a strong candidate for sex determination in C. sativa , with a potentially conserved role in H. lupulus .",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Biology and Environmental Science and Earth Institute, University College Dublin"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Matteo Toscani"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ainhoa Riera-Begue"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Nina Trubanová"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Susanne Schilling"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rainer Melzer"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5tvcm20aqphxr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpls.2026.1882604",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13717154/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "5tvcm20aqphxr",
  "issns": [
    "1664-462X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1882604/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Plant Molecular Biology Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221914561",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1882604/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13717154",
  "pmid": "42959550",
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5tvcm20aqphxr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:25Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpls.2026.1882604",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1882604/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:37Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13717154",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717154"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:52Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42959550",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42959550"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:21:31Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13717154",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2026.1882604"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Plant Molecular Biology Research",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Rapid bursts and long-term stasis: phylogeny, evolutionary dynamics, and expression of B3 transcription factors in Arabidopsis, Cannabis, and Humulus",
  "title_text": "Rapid bursts and long-term stasis: phylogeny, evolutionary dynamics, and expression of B3 transcription factors in Arabidopsis, Cannabis, and Humulus",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-02T12:21:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5tvcm20aqphxr",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Plant Science",
  "versions": []
}