Tissue-specific expression and genome-wide analysis of RALF gene family in pea (Pisum sativum L.) under different stresses

Abiotic stress tolerance has been present in wild crop relatives but then lost during their domestication. As a result, all crops are extremely sensitive to climate-driven environmental constraints such as drought, salinity, flooding, and various nutritional disorders. This is specifically true for pea – an important legume crop. This work aims to offer crop breeders new valuable targets for breeding climate-resilient pea varieties to enhance sustainable agriculture and meet the growing demand for plant-based proteins, focusing on genes from the RALF (rapid alkalinization factor) family. By detailed analysis of the phylogenetic relationships, structural features, and tissue- specific and stress-responsive expression patterns undebiotci stresses of RALF genes, our work provides the first comprehensive resource on PsRALF genes, bridging a critical knowledge gap in legume stress biology and lays the groundwork for future genetic engineering or marker-assisted selection to develop climate-resilient pea varieties.