Identification of Dof transcription factors in ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud) and their expression in response to different nitrogen treatments.

19 DNA binding with one finger (Dof) transcription factor genes were identified from genome and transcriptome data of ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud). Chemical character, subnuclear localization, motif analysis, phylogenetic analysis, and tissue-specific analysis were performed. To select BnDof genes participating in nitrogen metabolism, we analyzed the expression patterns of BnDof genes in different nitrogen conditions (N0, N4, N8, and N12) in different tissues. As a result, eight BnDof genes were identified. BnDof07 (stem) and BnDof14 (root) had higher expression levels in N0 and N4, and BnDof15 (stem and leaves) and BnDof18 (stem) both exhibited the highest expression level in N0, suggesting that these four genes may take part in nitrogen stress. In the leaves, BnDof01, BnDof06, BnDof09, and BnDof19 expression levels were higher in N8 and N12 but lower in N0 and N4. The present findings provide insights into nitrogen metabolism in ramie highlighting the need to investigate this aspect in further detail in future studies.