Genome-wide comparative analysis of Glycolate oxidase (GOX) gene family in plants

Glycolate Oxidase (GOX) is a key enzyme in photorespiration, a complex metabolic pathway in plants that affects photosynthesis efficiency and one of its most prominent products is hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Photosynthetic pathways and H₂O₂ production can drastically differ between C3 and C4 plants which have distinctions in the photorespiration machinery. Such contrasts critically impact physiological processes in plants, such as development and stress responses. However, few studies bring light to evolutionary and structural aspects of the photorespiration components, and comparative analyses of gene families related to photorespiration in C3 and C4 plants are lacking. In the present study, we present the first genome-wide comparative analysis of the GOX gene family in plants, comparing relevant evolutionary and structural aspects of distinct GOX orthologs in plant families. The evolutionary relationships, gene structure, conserved motifs, promoter cis-element prediction, chromosome location, and interspecific collinearity were analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of the GOX gene family in plants. Family-dependent evolutionary and structural divergence were observed among distinct GOX genes, with higher gene conservation among Fabaceae family members. High sequence divergence found among Fabaceae and Poaceae GOX orthologs may impact functional divergence among these gene families. This comparative study provides a comprehensive picture of evolutionary and structural aspects of the GOX gene family in plants, as well as emphasizes the involvement of GOX orthologs in plant stress responses.