| Summary: | Germins and germin-like proteins (GLPs) are glycoproteins closely associated with plant development and stress response in the plant kingdom. Here, we carried out genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the <i>GLP</i> gene family in cucumber to study their possible functions. A total of 38 <i>GLP</i> genes were identified in cucumber, which could be mapped to six out of the seven cucumber chromosomes. A phylogenetic analysis of the GLP members from cucumber, <i>Arabidopsis</i> and rice showed that these GLPs could be divided into six groups, and cucumber GLPs in the same group had highly similar conserved motif distribution and gene structure. Gene duplication analysis revealed that six cucumber <i>GLP</i> genes were located in the segmental duplication regions of cucumber chromosomes, while 14 genes were associated with tandem duplications. Tissue expression profiles of cucumber <i>GLP</i> genes showed that many genes were preferentially expressed in specific tissues. In addition, some cucumber <i>GLP</i> genes were differentially expressed under salt, drought and ABA treatments, as well as under DM inoculation. Our results provide important information for the functional identification of <i>GLP</i> genes in the growth, development and stress response of cucumber.
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