BackgroundPineapple is the only commercially grown fruit crop in the Bromeliaceae family and has significant agricultural, industrial, economic, and ornamental value. GRF (growth-regulating factor) proteins are important transcription factors that have evolved in seed plants (embryophytes). They contain two conserved domains, QLQ (Gln, Leu, Gln) and WRC (Trp, Arg, Cys), and regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and stress response, including floral organ development, leaf growth, and hormone responses. The GRF family has been characterized in a number of plant species, but little is known about this family in pineapple and other bromeliads.Main discoveriesWe identified eight GRF transcription factor genes in pineapple, and phylogenetic analysis placed them into five subfamilies (I, III, IV, V, VI). Segmental duplication appeared to be the major contributor to expansion of the AcGRF family, and the family has undergone strong purifying selection during evolution. Relative to that of other gene families, the gene structure of the GRF family showed less conservation. Analysis of promoter cis-elements suggested that AcGRF genes are widely involved in plant growth and development. Transcriptome data and qRT-PCR results showed that, with the exception of AcGRF5, the AcGRFs were preferentially expressed in the early stage of floral organ development and AcGRF2 was strongly expressed in ovules. Gibberellin treatment significantly induced AcGRF7/8 expression, suggesting that these two genes may be involved in the molecular regulatory pathway by which gibberellin promotes pineapple fruit expansion.ConclusionAcGRF proteins appear to play a role in the regulation of floral organ development and the response to gibberellin. The information reported here provides a foundation for further study of the functions of AcGRF genes and the traits they regulate.

Background: growth-regulating factors（GRFs）are plant-specific transcription factors that play an important role in plant growth and development, Although the GRF gene family has been identified in many species, a genome-wide analysis of this gene family in pineapple has not been reported.Results: In this study, 8 pineapple GRF genes (AcGRF) were identified and renamed according to their chromosomal locations.8 AcGRFs were divided into three main families and subgroups based on their structural and phylogenetic characteristics. Genomic collinearity analysis found that segmental duplication played a more important role in the expansion of the pineapple GRF gene family. GRF gene collinearity analysis and phylogenetic analysis provide deeper insights into the evolutionary characteristics of pineapple GRF genes. Transcriptome data and real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed AcGRF gene expression patterns in various tissues and responses to different abiotic stresses and hormonal treatments.Conclusions: In this study, 8 GRF genes were identified in pineapple, and their coding gene structures, evolutionary characteristics, and expression patterns were analyzed. This systematic analysis provides a basis for further identification of pineapple GRF gene function.