Identification and Expression Analysis of the <i>bHLH</i> Gene Family Members in <i>Diospyros kaki</i>
Weijuan Han,
Qi Zhang,
Yujing Suo,
Huawei Li,
Songfeng Diao,
Peng Sun,
Lin Huang,
Jianmin Fu
Affiliations
Weijuan Han
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Qi Zhang
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Yujing Suo
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Huawei Li
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Songfeng Diao
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Peng Sun
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Lin Huang
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Jianmin Fu
Research Institute of Non-Timber Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Non-Timber Forest Germplasm Enhancement & Utilization of State Administration of Forestry and Grassland, No. 3 Weiwu Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) proteins belong to one of the largest families involved in plant growth, development, signal transduction, and secondary metabolism. Although bHLH genes have been previously identified in persimmon (Diospyros kaki), systematic studies have not been reported. A total of 59 bHLH family members have been identified from the “Xiaoguotianshi” persimmon transcriptome. These proteins were clustered into 12 groups from I to XII based on their phylogenetic relationships with Arabidopsis thaliana. Combined with the phylogenetic analysis, in silico expression patterns of five developmental stages, the protein–protein interaction analysis between DkbHLH and DkMYB proteins showed that the bHLH_Cluster-15548.1 protein sequence was identified to be highly similar to the AtGL3 (AT5G41315.1) protein, which is associated with flavonoid and proanthocyanidin (PA) biosynthesis. This study presents the systematic analysis of bHLH genes from D. kaki and provides valuable information for further research on the involvement of bHLH protein in anthocyanin biosynthesis.
