Genome-wide identification, classification and expression analysis of the PHD-finger protein family in Populus trichocarpa

• We identified 73 full-length PHD genes in the poplar genome.
• We found 7 segmental duplication and 2 tandem duplication events in this family.
• Ka/Ks analysis showed that most paralogous genes experienced purifying selection.
• We analyzed the expression patterns of nine candidate PtPHD genes in response to stress.

The plant homeobox domain (PHD) proteins are widespread in eukaryotes, and play important roles in regulating chromatin and transcription. Comprehensive analyses of PHD-finger proteins have been performed in animals, but few plant PHD-finger proteins involved in growth and development have been characterized functionally. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide survey of PHD-finger proteins in Populus trichocarpa by describing the phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, and chromosomal location and microarray analyses of each predicted PHD-finger family member. We identified 73 PHD-finger genes (PtPHD1-73) and classified them into eleven subfamilies (A–K) by phylogenetic analysis. Seventy-two of the 73 genes were unevenly distributed on all 19 chromosomes, with seven segmental duplication events. Analysis of the Ka (non-synonymous substitution rate)/Ks (synonymous substitution rate) ratios suggested that the duplicated genes of the PHD-finger family mainly underwent purifying selection with restrictive functional divergence after the duplication events. Expression profiles analysis indicated that 67 PHD-finger genes were differentially expressed in various tissues. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses of nine selected PtPHD genes under high salinity, drought and cold stresses were also performed to explore their stress-related expression patterns. The results of this study provide a thorough overview of poplar PHD-finger proteins and will be valuable for further functional research of poplar PHD-finger genes to unravel their biological roles.