The Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor Family in the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

• Published in: Journal of insect science (Tucson, Ariz.) Ariz.), 2011, Vol.11 (84), p.1-11
• Main Authors: Dang, Chun-Wang, Wang, Yong, Chen, Ke-Ping, Yao, Qing, Zhang, De-Bao, Guo, Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acyrthosiphon pisum; Amino Acid Sequence; Animal genetics; Animals; Aphididae; Aphids - genetics; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics; blast search; Bombycidae; Bombyx mori; Coleoptera; Danio rerio; Diptera; Drosophila melanogaster; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Drosophilidae; Genetic aspects; Genome, Insect; Genomes; genomics; Helix-loop-helix proteins; Hemiptera; Insect Proteins - genetics; Introns; Lepidoptera; Molecular Sequence Data; Multigene Family; orthologous family; Pea aphid; phylogenetic analysis; Phylogeny; Physiological aspects; Pisum; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Structure-function relationships; Tenebrionidae; Transcription factors; Tribolium castaneum
• ISSN: 1536-2442; 1536-2442
• DOI: 10.1673/031.011.8401

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins play essential roles in a wide range of developmental processes in higher organisms. bHLH family members have been identified in over 20 organisms, including fruit fly, zebrafish, and human. This study identified 54 bHLH family members in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), genome. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that they belong to 37 bHLH families with 21, 13, 9, 1, 9, and 1 members in group A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively. Through in-group phylogenetic analyses, all of the identified A. pisum bHLH members were assigned into their correspondent bHLH families with confidence, among which 51 were defined according to phylogenetic analyses with orthologs from Drosophila melanogaster Meigen (Diptera: Drosophilidae), and 3 of them were defined according to phylogenetic analyses with orthologs from Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Analyses on genomic coding regions revealed that the number and average length of introns in A. pisum bHLH motifs are higher than those in other insects. The present study provides useful background information for future studies on structure and function of bHLH proteins in the regulation of A. pisum development.