摘要：High temperatures can negatively affect lettuce production by promoting early bolting, which leads to increased levels of latex accumulation in the leaves, causing them to become bitter. The lack of adaptation of this culture to such conditions made it an object of study for plant breeding programs, resulting in well succeeded studies. However, little is known about the genes that regulate lettuce flowering. A better understanding of the complex genic interactions involved in the process of lettuce floral initiation is of great importance, since it can enable the development of late-bolting cultivars through plant genetic transformation. MADS-box transcriptional factors are key flowering regulators and have been extensively studied during the flowering process in several species. Thus, this study aimed to identify and characterize the Lettuce MADS-box gene family through the use of bioinformatics tools. The computational analysis consisted in gene prediction, alignment, and phylogenetic analysis. 91 sequences of putative MADS-box genes were identified and characterized by a phylogenetic study of 20 MADS-box genes. Future studies comprising mutants for these genes in plant model species and in lettuce will enable a better understanding of the functions performed by these genes during lettuce flowering, as well as, a better comprehension of this process.
