Genome-wide identification and analysis on APETALA2/ethylene responsive factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily in avocado (Persea americana Mill.) and functional exploration of PaWRI1 and PaWRI2 in fatty acid accumulation

We firstly systematically and comprehensively identified the AP2/ERF superfamily in avocado and conducted the phylogenetic analysis. Secondly, expression analysis was performed to identify the involvement of AP2/ERF members in the five developmental periods of avocado mesocarp when the oil content continued to accumulate throughout the avocado mesocarp developmental period, which provided valuable clues for functional characterization in fatty acids accumulation of the AP2/ERF superfamily in avocado mesocarp. Thirdly, to understand function in fatty acids accumulation of PaWRI1 and PaWRI2 further, PaWRI1 and PaWRI2 transgenic tomato plants were created in the current study. Transcriptome and targeted metabolome analyses of the wild type and overexpressed tomato lines were performed to evaluate fatty acid compositions accumulations, and the results would help to demonstrate a functional role for PaWRI1 and PaWRI2 in mediating fatty acid biosynthetic pathway in plants.