Identification and Expression Profiling of the HSP70 Gene Family in Melon Under Combined High Temperature and Humidity Stress.
- 1School of Modern Agriculture, Jiangsu Agri-Animal Husbandry Vocational College, Taizhou 225300, China.
- 2School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Abstract
Background/objectives
Heat-shock protein 70 is a key plant molecular chaperone whose family response to combined high temperature and humidity stress in melon remains uncharacterized. This study aimed to characterize the CmHSP70 family genome-wide and compare its expression dynamics between cultivars with contrasting responses to HTH stress.Methods
The CmHSP70 genes in melon were identified via bioinformatic analysis, with characterization covering phylogeny, gene structure, cis-elements, synteny, and selection pressure. Expression profiles under HTH stress were compared between the tolerant cultivar JD versus the sensitive cultivar JTL across 0 to 3 days using transcriptome with qRT-PCR validation, supplemented by three-dimensional (3D) structure prediction plus protein interaction network analysis.Results
The 16 CmHSP70 proteins were predicted to show diverse subcellular localizations, predominantly in the cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and chloroplasts, and were grouped into five subfamilies with closest homology to cucurbit crops. Cis-acting element analysis showed that the promoters of CmHSP70 genes contain various stress-responsive and hormone-responsive elements, implying their broad roles in stress adaptation. Gene duplication analysis revealed only one segmental duplication event and no tandem duplications in the CmHSP70 family, indicating limited expansion during melon evolution. Ka/Ks ratios below 1 for all paralogous pairs further suggest strong purifying selection and highly conserved protein functions. Furthermore, expression profiling under high temperature and humidity (HTH) stress identified CmHSP70-4, -7, -8, and -13 as key candidates, showing sustained upregulation through day 3 in the tolerant cultivar but transient induction followed by decline in the sensitive cultivar. Predicted 3D structures and a STRING-based protein-protein interaction network further highlighted these four genes within the predicted chaperone interaction framework.Conclusions
This study provides candidate gene resources for future functional validation and breeding of HTH-tolerant melon and other cucurbit crops. The association between sustained CmHSP70 induction and the tolerant cultivar response offers a working hypothesis for molecular breeding under climate change.
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BibTeX
@article{weng2026identification,
title = {{Identification and Expression Profiling of the HSP70 Gene Family in Melon Under Combined High Temperature and Humidity Stress.}},
author = {Jinyang Weng and Zixin Wang and Muhammad Khalid Hameed and Asad Rehman and Jiahui Shao and Can Geng and Pengli Li},
journal = {Genes},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/genes17101257},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42938373},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Identification and Expression Profiling of the HSP70 Gene Family in Melon Under Combined High Temperature and Humidity Stress.
AU - Jinyang Weng
AU - Zixin Wang
AU - Muhammad Khalid Hameed
AU - Asad Rehman
AU - Jiahui Shao
AU - Can Geng
AU - Pengli Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
JO - Genes
DO - 10.3390/genes17101257
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42938373
AB - Background/objectives Heat-shock protein 70 is a key plant molecular chaperone whose family response to combined high temperature and humidity stress in melon remains uncharacterized. This study aimed to characterize the CmHSP70 family genome-wide and compare its expression dynamics between cultivars with contrasting responses to HTH stress.Methods The CmHSP70 genes in melon were identified via bioinformatic analysis, with characterization covering phylogeny, gene structure, cis-elements, synteny, and selection pressure. Expression profiles under HTH stress were compared between the tolerant cultivar JD versus the sensitive cultivar JTL across 0 to 3 days using transcriptome with qRT-PCR validation, supplemented by three-dimensional (3D) structure prediction plus protein interaction network analysis.Results The 16 CmHSP70 proteins were predicted to show diverse subcellular localizations, predominantly in the cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and chloroplasts, and were grouped into five subfamilies with closest homology to cucurbit crops. Cis-acting element analysis showed that the promoters of CmHSP70 genes contain various stress-responsive and hormone-responsive elements, implying their broad roles in stress adaptation. Gene duplication analysis revealed only one segmental duplication event and no tandem duplications in the CmHSP70 family, indicating limited expansion during melon evolution. Ka/Ks ratios below 1 for all paralogous pairs further suggest strong purifying selection and highly conserved protein functions. Furthermore, expression profiling under high temperature and humidity (HTH) stress identified CmHSP70-4, -7, -8, and -13 as key candidates, showing sustained upregulation through day 3 in the tolerant cultivar but transient induction followed by decline in the sensitive cultivar. Predicted 3D structures and a STRING-based protein-protein interaction network further highlighted these four genes within the predicted chaperone interaction framework.Conclusions This study provides candidate gene resources for future functional validation and breeding of HTH-tolerant melon and other cucurbit crops. The association between sustained CmHSP70 induction and the tolerant cultivar response offers a working hypothesis for molecular breeding under climate change.
SN - 2073-4425
ER -