Abstract

As the second largest transcription factor family in plant, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor family, characterized by the conserved bHLH domain, plays a central regulatory role in many biological process. However, the bHLH transcription factor family of strawberry has not been systematically identified, especially for the anthocyanin biosynthesis. Here, we identified a total of 113 bHLH transcription factors and described their chromosomal distribution and bioinformatics for the diploid woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca. In addition, transcription profiles of 113 orthologous bHLH genes from various tissues were analyzed for the cultivar ‘Benihoppe’, its white-flesh mutant ‘Xiaobai’, and the ‘Snow Princess’ from their fruit development to the ripening, as well as those under either the ABA or Eth treatment. Both the RT-PCR and qRT-PCR results show that seven selected FabHLH genes (FabHLH17, FabHLH25, FabHLH27, FabHLH29, FabHLH40, FabHLH80, FabHLH98) are responsive to the fruit anthocyanin biosynthesis and hormone signaling according to transcript profiles where three color modes are observed for strawberry’s fruit skin and flesh. Further, prediction for the protein interaction network reveals that four bHLHs (FabHLH25, FabHLH29, FabHLH80, FabHLH98) are involved in the fruit anthocyanin biosynthesis and hormone signaling transduction. These bioinformatics and expression profiles provide a good basis for a further investigation of strawberry bHLH genes.

Details

Title
Identification of basic/helix-loop-helix transcription factors reveals candidate genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis from the strawberry white-flesh mutant
Author
Zhao, Fengli 1 ; Li, Gang 1 ; Hu, Panpan 1 ; Zhao, Xia 1 ; Li, Liangjie 1 ; Wei, Wei 2 ; Jiayue Feng 2 ; Zhou, Houcheng 1 

 Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Fruit Breeding Technology, Ministry of Agriculture of China, Zhengzhou, China 
 College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China 
Pages
1-15
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Feb 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2000011506
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.