Abstract: Chlorophyllase is the key enzyme in plant chlorophyll degradation process and plays an important role in plant growth and development. To understand the functional differences of CLH gene family members in wheat during chlorophyll degradation, the bioinformatics analysis method and real-time fluorescence quantitative (qRT-PCR) technology were used to identify and analyze the CLH gene family in wheat. The results showed that 13 TaCLHs (TaCLH1 ～ TaCLH13) were identified in wheat genome and distributed on chromosomes 3A, 3B, 3D, 4B, 5A, 5D, 6A, 6B and 6D. The promoter regions of TaCLHs contained plant hormone response elements, environmental stress response elements and plant growth response elements. Analysis of TaCLHs expression patterns in different tissues and different developmental stages showed that most of the members expressed in leaves/shoots and panicles. In addition, qRT-PCR analysis showed that TaCLHs were involved in chlorophyll degradation at different growth stages, which laid the foundation for further study of CLH gene function in wheat.
Key words: wheat; CLH gene family; chlorophyll degradation; expression analysis; qRT-PCR
（Acta Laser Biology Sinica, 2022, 31(1): 050-060）