Abstract
The bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) transcription factor family is the second largest in plants. It occurs in all three eukaryotic kingdoms, and plays important roles in regulating growth and development. However, family members have not previously been studied in apple. Here, we identified 188 MdbHLH proteins in apple “Golden Delicious” (Malus × domestica Borkh.), which could be classified into 18 groups. We also investigated the gene structures and 12 conserved motifs in these MdbHLHs. Coupled with expression analysis and protein interaction network prediction, we identified several genes that might be responsible for abiotic stress responses. This study provides insight and rich resources for subsequent investigations of such proteins in apple.
Highlights
Because they are sessile, plants are inevitably affected by environmental factors from which they cannot escape
Gene IDs, genomic positions, charge at pH 7.0 values, and information about Gene Ontology (GO) annotations were summarized for these MdbHLH proteins (Supplementary Table S3)
(Cao et al, 2013), ERF (Girardi et al, 2013), DREB (Zhao et al, 2012), bZIP (Wang et al, 2015), and WRKY (Meng et al, 2016). No such detailed studies have been done with the bHLH family, and only a few examinations have been made of MdbHLHs (An et al, 2012, 2016; Xie et al, 2012)
Summary
Plants are inevitably affected by environmental factors from which they cannot escape To optimize their growth and survival, they must utilize a wide range of physiological and biochemical processes in their responses to diverse abiotic stresses (Feller et al, 2011; Sun et al, 2015). The basic region, with 13–17 amino acids, is located at the N-terminus of the bHLH domain, where it binds the specific E-box (CANNTG) DNA sequence.
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