Adaptive evolutionary changes in regulatory genes and cis-elements associated with Kranz development in monocots

C4 plants exhibit higher photosynthetic efficiency under high temperatures and low water availability due to their unique anatomical and biochemical adaptations, but the evolutionary mechanisms and regulatory components underlying their Kranz development remain partly known. If C4 traits evolved through adaptive changes, its developmental regulators should show detectable evolutionary signatures in C4 lineages. In this study, we investigated the adaptive evolutionary changes in both protein sequences and cis-motifs upstream of genes associated with Kranz anatomy in C4 grasses. We identified signatures of convergent evolution in candidate genes and their upstream regions by comparing C4 ortho