Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the <i>CAMTA</i> Gene Family in Roses (<i>Rosa chinensis</i> Jacq.)

Calmodulin-binding transcription activator (<i>CAMTA</i>), as one of the transcription factors, is involved in performing important functions in modulating plant stress responses and development in a Ca²⁺/CaM-driven modus. However, genome-scale analysis of <i>CAMTA</i> has not been systemically investigated in roses. Rose (<i>Rosa chinensis</i> Jacq.) <i>CAMTA</i> gene family members were identified and bioinformatically analyzed to investigate their expression characteristics in plant hormonal responses. The results show that a total of five rose <i>CAMTA</i> genes were identified. Chromosomal localization shows that the <i>RcCAMTA</i> gene members were located on chromosomes 2, 4, and 7. Physicochemical property analysis shows that its CDS sequence length ranges from 500 to 1070 bp, the molecular weight ranges from 55,531.60 to 120,252.98 Da, and the isoelectric point is from 5.04 to 8.54. Phylogenetic analysis shows that rose <i>CAMTA</i> genes are classified into three subfamilies. Conservative motif analysis reveals the presence of motif 1, motif 3, motif 5, motif 7, and motif 10 in all the <i>RcCAMTA</i> genes. The cis-acting element prediction results show that the rose <i>CAMTA</i> gene family contains phytohormone-signaling response elements, abiotic stress responses, light responses, and other elements, most of which are hormone-signaling response elements. From the expression levels of <i>RcCAMTA</i> genes, the <i>CAMTA</i> family’s genes in roses have different spatial expression patterns in different tissues. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that all five rose <i>CAMTA</i> genes responded to salicylic acid (SA). <i>RcCAMTA3</i> was significantly induced by abscisic acid (ABA), and <i>RcCAMTA2</i> was significantly induced by 1H-indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Thus, we provide a basic reference for further studies about the functions of CAMTA proteins in plants.