| Summary: | Late embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins are a large and highly diverse family believed to function in normal plant growth and development, and in protecting cells from abiotic stress. This study presents a characterisation of 74 <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> LEA (StLEA) proteins belonging to nine groups. <i>StLEA</i> genes have few introns (≤2) and are distributed on all chromosomes, occurring as gene clusters on chromosomes 1, 2, and 10. All four <i>StASR</i> (<i>StLEA7</i> group) genes were concentrated on chromosome 4, suggesting their evolutionary conservation on one chromosome. Expression profiles of <i>StLEA</i> genes, in different tissues and in response to hormone and stress treatments, indicated that 71 <i>StLEA</i> genes had differential expression levels, of which 68 <i>StLEA</i> genes were differentially expressed in response to hormones and stress exposure in the potato. Continuous high expression of <i>StASR-2</i>, <i>StLEA3-3</i>, <i>StDHN-3</i>, <i>StLEA2-29</i>, and <i>StLEA2-14</i> in different tissues indicated their contribution to plant development processes. <i>StLEA2-14</i>, <i>StLEA2-31</i>, <i>StLEA3-3</i>, <i>StASR-1</i>, and <i>StDHN-1</i> were upregulated by six abiotic stresses, showing their tolerance to a wide spectrum of environmental stresses. Expression analysis of 17 selected <i>StLEA</i> genes in response to drought, salt, heavy metal, heat, and cold treatments by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction indicated that StLEA proteins may be involved in distinct signalling pathways. Taken together, <i>StLEA3</i>, <i>StDHN</i>, and <i>StASR</i> subgroup genes may be excellent resources for potato defence against environmental stresses. These results provide valuable information and robust candidate genes for future functional analysis aimed at improving the stress tolerance of the potato.
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