Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation
IntroductionThe basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins are a large family of transcription factors that are essential to physiology, metabolism, and development. However, the available information is limited about the bHLH gene family in Chimonobambusa utilis, which is widely cultivated in China bec...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1514703/full |
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| author | Long Tong Long Tong Long Tong Qingping Zeng Yuan Guo Yanjie Li Hongyan Li Lijie Chen Xia Liu |
| author_facet | Long Tong Long Tong Long Tong Qingping Zeng Yuan Guo Yanjie Li Hongyan Li Lijie Chen Xia Liu |
| author_sort | Long Tong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins are a large family of transcription factors that are essential to physiology, metabolism, and development. However, the available information is limited about the bHLH gene family in Chimonobambusa utilis, which is widely cultivated in China because of its high-quality and economic value. C. utilis cultivars exhibit five natural color variations in their shoot sheaths, but the molecular mechanism behind this color diversity remains unclear.MethodsDe novo assembly was employed to obtain gene sequences. To identify pathways related to color formation, GO enrichment analysis was performed on the 44,255 functionally annotated unigenes.ResultsThe transcriptomic analysis of C. utilis yielded a total of 195,977 transcripts and 75,137 unigenes after removing redundancy. The enrichment results revealed that four pathways were most strongly associated with color formation. Phylogenetic, conserved motif, and protein–protein interaction analyses, along with qRT–PCR validation, confirmed CubHLH17's role in red sheath color.DiscussionThis research not only deepens insights into the functional roles of CubHLH genes but also lays the foundation for genetic improvement of bamboo species. We suggest that these findings will contribute to both scientific research and commercial bamboo cultivation through gene editing technology in the future. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-df62f74e0cd94941a986f118e4e693c4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-df62f74e0cd94941a986f118e4e693c42025-02-12T07:27:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-02-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15147031514703Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variationLong Tong0Long Tong1Long Tong2Qingping Zeng3Yuan Guo4Yanjie Li5Hongyan Li6Lijie Chen7Xia Liu8College of Smart Agriculture, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, Chongqing Academy of Forestry, Chongqing, ChinaInternational Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, Chongqing Academy of Forestry, Chongqing, ChinaCollege of Smart Agriculture, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, ChinaResearch Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, Chongqing Academy of Forestry, Chongqing, ChinaBamboo Research Institute, Chongqing Academy of Forestry, Chongqing, ChinaCollege of Smart Agriculture, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, ChinaIntroductionThe basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins are a large family of transcription factors that are essential to physiology, metabolism, and development. However, the available information is limited about the bHLH gene family in Chimonobambusa utilis, which is widely cultivated in China because of its high-quality and economic value. C. utilis cultivars exhibit five natural color variations in their shoot sheaths, but the molecular mechanism behind this color diversity remains unclear.MethodsDe novo assembly was employed to obtain gene sequences. To identify pathways related to color formation, GO enrichment analysis was performed on the 44,255 functionally annotated unigenes.ResultsThe transcriptomic analysis of C. utilis yielded a total of 195,977 transcripts and 75,137 unigenes after removing redundancy. The enrichment results revealed that four pathways were most strongly associated with color formation. Phylogenetic, conserved motif, and protein–protein interaction analyses, along with qRT–PCR validation, confirmed CubHLH17's role in red sheath color.DiscussionThis research not only deepens insights into the functional roles of CubHLH genes but also lays the foundation for genetic improvement of bamboo species. We suggest that these findings will contribute to both scientific research and commercial bamboo cultivation through gene editing technology in the future.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1514703/fullChimonobambusa utilisanthocyaninbHLH gene familyqRT-PCRprotein interaction network |
| spellingShingle | Long Tong Long Tong Long Tong Qingping Zeng Yuan Guo Yanjie Li Hongyan Li Lijie Chen Xia Liu Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation Frontiers in Plant Science Chimonobambusa utilis anthocyanin bHLH gene family qRT-PCR protein interaction network |
| title | Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation |
| title_full | Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation |
| title_fullStr | Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation |
| title_short | Functional characterization in Chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bHLH gene family in bamboo sheath color variation |
| title_sort | functional characterization in chimonobambusa utilis reveals the role of bhlh gene family in bamboo sheath color variation |
| topic | Chimonobambusa utilis anthocyanin bHLH gene family qRT-PCR protein interaction network |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1514703/full |
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