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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Bioinformatics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1485757

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of bHLH gene family revealed their potential roles in abiotic stress response, anthocyanin biosynthesis and trichome formation in Glycyrrhiza uralensis

Provisionally accepted
Guohua Ding Guohua Ding 1Yanping Shi Yanping Shi 2Kerui Xie Kerui Xie 1Hongbin Li Hongbin Li 2Guanghui Xiao Guanghui Xiao 1*
  • 1 Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
  • 2 Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China

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

    Licorice stands out as an exceptional medicinal resource with a long history of application, attributed to its substantial pharmacological potential. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) gene family, being the second-largest in plants, is vital for plant development and adapting to environmental shifts. Despite this, the comprehensive characteristics of licorice bHLH gene family are not well-documented. In this study, a detailed and thorough genome-wide identification and expression analysis of Glycyrrhiza uralensis bHLH gene family was carried out, resulting in the identification of 139 licorice bHLH members. Our duplication analysis highlighted the significant contribution of segmental duplications to the expansion of G. uralensis bHLH genes, with GubHLH genes experiencing negative selection throughout evolution. It was discovered that GubHLH64 and GubHLH38 could be importantly linked to the licorice trichome initiation and anthocyanin biosynthesis and GubHLH64 was also involved in the abiotic stress response. Additionally, certain subfamily III (d+e) GubHLH members could be implicated in the licorice drought response. GubHLH108, GubHLH109, and GubHLH116 were suggested to form a tightly related cluster, initiating transcriptional responses via JA signaling pathway. In summary, our findings furnish a foundational understanding for future investigations of GubHLH gene functions and regulation mechanisms, shedding light on the potential applications of licorice in medicine and agriculture.

    Keywords: bHLH gene family, licorice, Evolutionary analyses, Expression patterns, Stress responses, phytohormones

    Received: 24 Aug 2024; Accepted: 27 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ding, Shi, Xie, Li and Xiao. 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: Guanghui Xiao, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.