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Background  Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum  L.) is a dedicated lignocellulosic feedstock for bioenergy production. The SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING PROTEIN (SBP-box)-LIKE transcription factors (SPLs) change plant architecture and vegetative-to-reproductive phase transition significantly, and as such, they are promising candidates for genetic improvement of switchgrass biomass yield. However, the genome-wide identification and functional characterization of  SPL  genes have yet to be investigated in herbaceous energy crops.    Results  We identified 35 full-length  SPL  genes in the switchgrass genome. The phylogenetic relationship and expression pattern of  PvSPLs  provided baseline information for their function characterization. Based on the global overview of  PvSPLs , we explored the biological function of miR156-targeted  PvSPL1  and  PvSPL 2, which are closely related members of  SPL  family in switchgrass. Our results showed that  PvSPL1  and  PvSPL 2 acted redundantly to modulate side tiller initiation, whereas they did not affect phase transition and internode initiation. Consistently, overexpression of the miR156-resistant  rPvSPL2  in the miR156-overexpressing transgenic plants greatly reduced tiller initiation, but did not rescue the delayed flowering and increased internode numbers. Furthermore, suppression of PvSPL2 activity in switchgrass increased biomass yield and reduced lignin accumulation, which thereby elevated the total amount of solubilized sugars.    Conclusions  Our results indicate that different miR156-targeted  PvSPL  subfamily genes function predominantly in certain biological processes in switchgrass. We suggest that  PvSPL2  and its paralogs can be utilized as the valuable targets in molecular breeding of energy crops for developing novel germplasms with high biofuel production.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0516-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Switchgrass SBP-box transcription factors PvSPL1 and 2 function redundantly to initiate side tillers and affect biomass yield of energy crop