Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop whose production and quality are severely reduced under adverse environmental stress conditions. The GATA transcription factors belonging to type IV zinc-finger proteins, play a significant role in regulating light morphogenesis, nitrate assimilation, and organ development in plants. However, the functional characteristics of GATA gene family during development and in response to environmental stresses have not yet been investigated in pepper. In this study, a total of 28 pepper GATA (CaGATA) genes were identified. To gain an overview of the CaGATAs, we analyzed their chromosomal distribution, gene structure, conservative domains, cis-elements, phylogeny, and evolutionary relationship. We divided 28 CaGATAs into four groups distributed on 10 chromosomes, and identified 7 paralogs in CaGATA family of pepper and 35 orthologous gene pairs between CaGATAs and Arabidopsis GATAs (AtGATAs). The results of promoter cis-element analysis and the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that CaGATA genes were involved in regulating the plant growth and development and the responses to various abiotic stresses and hormone treatments in pepper. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that most CaGATA genes were preferentially expressed in flower buds, flowers, and leaves. Several CaGATA genes, especially CaGATA14, were significantly regulated under multiple abiotic stresses, and CaGATA21 and CaGATA27 were highly responsive to phytohormone treatments. Taken together, our results lay a foundation for the biological function analysis of GATA gene family in pepper.

辣椒（Capsicum annuum L.）是一种经济上重要的蔬菜作物，在不利的环境压力条件下其产量和质量会严重下降。属于 IV 型锌指蛋白的 GATA 转录因子在调节植物的光形态发生、硝酸盐同化和器官发育方面发挥重要作用。然而，尚未在辣椒中研究GATA基因家族在发育过程中和响应环境胁迫的功能特征。本研究共鉴定出28个辣椒GATA（CaGATA）基因。为了获得对CaGATA的概述，我们分析了它们的染色体分布、基因结构、保守域、顺式元素、系统发育和进化关系。我们将28个CaGATAs分成分布在10条染色体上的四组，并鉴定出辣椒CaGATA家族的7个旁系同源基因和CaGATAs和拟南芥GATAs（AtGATAs）之间的35个直系同源基因对。启动子顺式元件分析和实时定量PCR（qRT-PCR）分析结果表明，CaGATA基因参与了辣椒植物生长发育的调控以及对各种非生物胁迫和激素处理的响应。组织特异性表达分析表明，大多数CaGATA基因优先在花蕾、花和叶中表达。几个CaGATA基因，特别是CaGATA14，在多种非生物胁迫下受到显着调节，CaGATA21和CaGATA27对植物激素处理高度敏感。综上所述，我们的研究结果为辣椒中GATA基因家族的生物学功能分析奠定了基础。