Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the SWEET gene family in daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) and functional analysis of HfSWEET17 in response to cold stress

BACKGROUND: The Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporters (SWEETs) are a newly discovered family of sugar transporters whose members exist in a variety of organisms and are highly conserved. SWEETs have been reported to be involved in the growth and development of many plants, but little is known about SWEETs in daylily (Hemerocallis fulva), an important perennial ornamental flower. RESULTS: In this study, 19 daylily SWEETs were identified and named based on their homologous genes in Arabidopsis and rice. Phylogenetic analysis classified these HfSWEETs into four clades (Clades I to IV). The conserved motifs and gene structures showed that the HfSWEETs were very conservative during evolution. Chromosomal localization and synteny analysis found that HfSWEETs were unevenly distributed on 11 chromosomes, and there were five pairs of segmentally duplicated events and one pair of tandem duplication events. The expression patterns of the 19 HfSWEETs showed that the expression patterns of most HfSWEETs in different tissues were related to corresponding clades, and most HfSWEETs were up-regulated under low temperatures. Furthermore, HfSWEET17 was overexpressed in tobacco, and the cold resistance of transgenic plants was much higher than that of wild-type tobacco. CONCLUSION: This study identified the SWEET gene family in daylily at the genome-wide level. Most of the 19 HfSWEETs were expressed differently in different tissues and under low temperatures. Overexpression further suggests that HfSWEET17 participates in daylily low-temperature response. The results of this study provide a basis for further functional analysis of the SWEET family in daylily. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-022-03609-6.