The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene family is essential for plant growth and development. However, the identification and evolutionary analysis of WOX genes in the Cucurbitaceae have not been well investigated. In the present work, we performed a genome-wide analysis to identify WOX genes in eleven cucurbit crops. In total, 127 WOX genes were identified in eleven cucurbit crops, and classified into three different clades: the ancient clade, the intermediate clade and the WUS clade. The same clade has comparable gene organization and conserved motif patterns. The cis-acting element analysis revealed that WOX genes were involved in light, hormone and stress in cucurbit crops. Gene duplication analysis indicated that dispersed duplication and whole genome duplication were the two primary causes of WOX genes expansion. There were 24 and 129 gene pairs found within cucurbit crops, and between Cucumis sativus and other cucurbit crops, respectively. After gene duplication, all WOX genes were subjected to substantial purifying selection pressure according to the selective pressure analysis. Functional divergence analysis revealed that ancient and intermediate clades may have descended from some essential amino acid sites rather than different evolution rate. Our research provides a comprehensive analysis of WOX genes which will be helpful for further research into their function study in Cucurbitaceae plants.

WUSCHEL 相关同源框 (WOX) 基因家族对于植物生长和发育至关重要。然而，葫芦科WOX基因的鉴定和进化分析尚未得到很好的研究。在目前的工作中，我们进行了全基因组分析，以确定11 种葫芦科作物中的WOX基因。在11种葫芦科作物中总共鉴定出127个WOX基因，并分为三个不同的进化枝：古老进化枝、中间进化枝和WUS进化枝。同一进化枝具有相似的基因组织和保守的基序模式。顺式作用元件分析表明WOX基因与葫芦科作物的光、激素和胁迫有关。基因重复分析表明分散重复和全基因组重复是WOX基因扩增的两个主要原因。在葫芦科作物内以及黄瓜与其他葫芦科作物之间分别发现了 24 个和 129 个基因对。根据选择压力分析，基因复制后，所有WOX基因都受到显着的纯化选择压力。功能分歧分析表明，古代和中间进化枝可能源自某些必需氨基酸位点，而不是不同的进化速度。我们的研究对WOX基因进行了全面的分析，这将有助于进一步研究其在葫芦科植物中的功能。