Zeng Zhen, Wang Yong, Johnson Nana Adwoa Nkuma, Wang Guang-Dong, Yao Qin, Chen Ke-Ping
Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.
School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.
J Insect Sci. 2018 May 1;18(3). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/iey057.
Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors play essential roles in regulating eukaryotic developmental and physiological processes such as neuron generation, myocyte formation, intestinal tissue development, and response to environmental stress. In this study, the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), genome was found to encode 52 bHLH genes. All 52 P. xylostella bHLH (PxbHLH) genes were classified into correspondent bHLH families according to their orthology with bHLHs from fruit fly and other insect species. Among these 52 PxbHLH genes, 19 have been annotated consistently with our classification in GenBank database. The remaining 33 PxbHLH genes are either annotated as general bHLH genes or as hypothetical genes. Therefore, our data provide useful information for updating annotations to PxbHLH genes. P. xylostella has four stem cell leukemia (SCL) genes (one of them has three copies), two Dys genes, two copies of MyoR, Mitf, and Sima genes, and three copies of Sage genes. Further studies may be conducted to elucidate functions of these specific bHLH genes in regulating P. xylostella growth and development.
碱性螺旋-环-螺旋（bHLH）转录因子在调节真核生物发育和生理过程中发挥着重要作用，如神经元生成、肌细胞形成、肠道组织发育以及对环境应激的反应。在本研究中，小菜蛾（Plutella xylostella (L.)，鳞翅目：菜蛾科）基因组被发现编码52个bHLH基因。根据与果蝇和其他昆虫物种的bHLH基因的直系同源关系，所有52个小菜蛾bHLH（PxbHLH）基因被归类到相应的bHLH家族中。在这52个PxbHLH基因中，有19个在GenBank数据库中的注释与我们的分类一致。其余33个PxbHLH基因要么被注释为一般的bHLH基因，要么被注释为假定基因。因此，我们的数据为更新PxbHLH基因的注释提供了有用信息。小菜蛾有四个干细胞白血病（SCL）基因（其中一个有三个拷贝）、两个Dys基因、两个MyoR拷贝、Mitf和Sima基因，以及三个Sage基因拷贝。可能需要进一步研究以阐明这些特定bHLH基因在调节小菜蛾生长发育中的功能。
