Pan-genome identification and abiotic stress functional characterization of BnaMBD7 genes in Brassica napus

Drought and salt stresses severely limit rapeseed yield and quality in China. This study elucidates the structural characteristics and biological functions of the BnaMBD7 gene in Brassica napus, and explores plant tolerance to drought and salt stress. The physicochemical properties, gene structure, phylogeny, promoter cis-elements, protein interactions and collinearity of BnaMBD7 pan-genes from eight rapeseed accessions were systematically analyzed via bioinformatics approaches. The stress-induced expression patterns of BnaMBD7 were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Under drought and salt stresses, BnaMBD7-overexpressing rapeseed lines exhibited longer roots than wild-type plants. Similarly, transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing BnaMBD7 had higher germination rates and longer roots than wild-type and knockout lines. Taken together, BnaMBD7 positively regulates drought and salt tolerance in rapeseed, acting as a key functional gene for stress resistance in B. napus.