Comprehensive Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiling of bHLH Transcription Factors in Areca catechu Under Abiotic Stress

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-12, Vol.25 (23), p.12936
• Main Authors: Ali, Akhtar, Khan, Noor Muhammad, Jiang, Yiqi, Zhou, Guangzhen, Wan, Yinglang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Amino acids; Analysis; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis thaliana; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - metabolism; DNA binding proteins; Flowers & plants; Gene Duplication; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; Genome, Plant; Genomes; Genomics; Grapes; Localization; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant hormones; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Proteins; Stress, Physiological - genetics; Transcription factors; Trees
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms252312936

The basic helix-loop-helix ( ) transcription factor (TF) family, the second-largest among eukaryotes, is known for its evolutionary and functional diversity across plant species. However, genes have not yet been characterized in . In this study, we identified 76 genes, which exhibit a variety of physicochemical properties. Phylogenetic analysis revealed evolutionary relationships between genes ( ) and their counterparts in ( ). These analyses also highlighted conserved amino acid motifs (S, R, K, P, L, A, G, and D), conserved domains, and evolutionary changes, such as insertions, deletions, and exon gains or losses. Promoter analysis of genes revealed 76 cis-elements related to growth, phytohormones, light, and stress. Gene duplication analysis revealed four tandem duplications and twenty-three segmental duplications, while in the Areca genome exhibited significant synteny with genes from , , , , , and . Furthermore, relative expression analysis showed that under drought stress (DS), , , , and showed distinct upregulation in leaves at specific time points, while all nine genes were upregulated in roots. Under salt stress (SS), , , , and were upregulated in leaves, and , , and exhibited differential expression in roots at various time points. This study provides valuable insights into the bHLH superfamily in , offering a solid foundation for further investigation into its role in responding to abiotic stresses.