Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying somatic embryogenesis is essential for resolving the problems related to the long duration of the process and a low rate of somatic embryo induction in oil palm tissue culture. In this study, we conducted genome-wide identification of the oil palm homeodomain leucine zipper (EgHD-ZIP) family, which is one of the plant-specific transcription factors reported to be involved in embryogenesis. EgHD-ZIP proteins can be divided into four subfamilies, which have similarities in gene structure and protein-conserved motifs within a group. In silico expression analysis showed that the expression of EgHD-ZIP gene members in the EgHD-ZIP I and II families, as well as most members in the EgHD-ZIP IV family, were up-regulated during the zygotic and somatic embryo developmental stages. In contrast, the expression of EgHD-ZIP gene members in the EgHD-ZIP III family was down-regulated during zygotic embryo development. Moreover, the expression of EgHD-ZIP IV genes was validated in the oil palm callus and at the somatic embryo stages (globular, torpedo, and cotyledon). The results revealed that EgHD-ZIP IV genes were up-regulated at the late stages of somatic embryogenesis (torpedo and cotyledon). While BABY BOOM (BBM) gene was up-regulated at the early stage of somatic embryogenesis (globular). In addition, the Yeast-two hybrid assay revealed the direct binding between all members of the oil palm HD-ZIP IV subfamily (EgROC2, EgROC3, EgROC5, EgROC8, and EgBBM). Our findings suggested that the EgHD-ZIP IV subfamily and EgBBM work together to regulate somatic embryogenesis in oil palms. This process is important because it is widely used in plant biotechnology to produce large quantities of genetically identical plants, which can be used for oil palm tissue culture improvement.
Keywords: HD-ZIP; oil palm; somatic embryogenesis.