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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1445488
This article is part of the Research Topic Plant Specialized Metabolisms: Physiological Responses and Molecular Mechanisms View all 6 articles

Comparative genomics and transcriptomics analysis of the bHLH gene family indicate their roles in regulating flavonoid biosynthesis in Sophora flavescens

Provisionally accepted
Ake Liu Ake Liu 1Junjie Lu Junjie Lu 1Huifang Song Huifang Song 1Mingyang Wang Mingyang Wang 2Zhenhong Lei Zhenhong Lei 3Huixuan Liu Huixuan Liu 1Haiying Lei Haiying Lei 1*Tianzeng Niu Tianzeng Niu 1*
  • 1 Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
  • 2 School of Life Science, Shanxi Normal University, Shanxi, Shanxi Province, China
  • 3 Shanxi Zhendong Pharmaceutical (China), Changzhi, Shanxi Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors play crucial roles in various processes, such as plant development, secondary metabolism, and response to biotic/abiotic stresses. Sophora flavescens is a widely used traditional herbal medicine in clinical practice, known for its abundant flavonoids as the main active compounds. However, there has been no comprehensive analysis of S. flavescens bHLH (SfbHLH) gene family reported currently.In this study, we identified 167 SfbHLH genes and classified them into 23 subfamilies based on comparative genomics and phylogenetic analysis. Furthermore, widespread duplications significantly contributed to the expansion of SfbHLH family. Notably, SfbHLH042 was found to occupy a central position in the bHLH protein-protein interaction network.Transcriptome analysis of four tissues (leaf, stem, root and flower) revealed that most SfbHLH genes exhibited high expression levels exclusively in specific tissues of S.flavescens. The integrated analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics during pod development stages revealed that SfbHLH042 may play a central role in connecting SfbHLH genes, flavonoids, and key synthetases involved in the biosynthesis pathway. Moreover, we also checked the expression of 8 SfbHLH genes using RT-qPCR analysis to realize the expression profiles of these genes among various tissues at different cultivated periods and root development. Our study would aid to understand the phylogeny and expression profile of SfbHLH family genes, and provide a promising candidate gene, SfbHLH042, for regulating the biosynthesis of flavonoids in S. flavescens.

    Keywords: bHLH, Sophora flavescens, Gene Duplication, Flavonoid biosynthesis, Coexpression network

    Received: 07 Jun 2024; Accepted: 05 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Lu, Song, Wang, Lei, Liu, Lei and Niu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Haiying Lei, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
    Tianzeng Niu, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China

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