Cui Xin, Wang Yong-Xin, Liu Zhi-Wei, Wang Wen-Li, Li Hui, Zhuang Jing
Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
Funct Integr Genomics. 2018 Sep;18(5):489-503. doi: 10.1007/s10142-018-0608-x. Epub 2018 Apr 12.
The tea plant is an important commercial horticulture crop cultivated worldwide. Yield and quality of this plant are influenced by abiotic stress. The bHLH family transcription factors play a pivotal role in the growth and development, including abiotic stress response, of plants. A growing number of bHLH proteins have been functionally characterized in plants. However, few studies have focused on the bHLH proteins in tea plants. In this study, 120 CsbHLH TFs were identified from tea plants using computational prediction method. Structural analysis detected 23 conservative residues, with over 50% identities in the bHLH domain. Moreover, 103 CsbHLH proteins were assumed to bind DNA and encompassed 98 E-Box binders and 85 G-Box binders. The CsbHLH proteins were grouped into 20 subfamilies based on phylogenetic analysis and a previous classification system. A survey of transcriptome profiling screened 22 and 39 CsbHLH genes that were upregulated under heat and drought stress. Nine CsbHLH genes were validated using qRT-PCR. Results were approximately in accordance with transcriptome data. These genes could be induced by one or more abiotic stresses.
茶树是一种在全球范围内广泛种植的重要商业园艺作物。该植物的产量和品质受非生物胁迫影响。bHLH家族转录因子在植物的生长发育中发挥着关键作用，包括对非生物胁迫的响应。越来越多的bHLH蛋白在植物中得到了功能表征。然而，针对茶树中bHLH蛋白的研究较少。在本研究中，采用计算预测方法从茶树中鉴定出120个CsbHLH转录因子。结构分析检测到23个保守残基，在bHLH结构域中具有超过50%的同一性。此外，103个CsbHLH蛋白被认为能够结合DNA，其中包括98个E-Box结合蛋白和85个G-Box结合蛋白。基于系统发育分析和先前的分类系统，CsbHLH蛋白被分为20个亚家族。通过转录组图谱分析筛选出22个和39个在热胁迫和干旱胁迫下上调的CsbHLH基因。使用qRT-PCR对9个CsbHLH基因进行了验证。结果与转录组数据大致相符。这些基因可被一种或多种非生物胁迫诱导。
