Identification and Expression Analysis of the bHLH Gene Family Members in Diospyros kaki

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.

Automated summary

This study identified 59 bHLH family members from the persimmon transcriptome and categorized them into 12 groups based on their phylogenetic relationships with Arabidopsis thaliana. Protein-protein interaction analysis revealed that the bHLH_Cluster-15548.1 protein is highly similar to the AtGL3 protein, which is involved in flavonoid and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis. This research provides valuable information for further understanding the role of bHLH proteins in anthocyanin biosynthesis.