Genome-wide and comparative analysis of bHLH38, bHLH39, bHLH100 and bHLH101 genes in Arabidopsis, tomato, rice, soybean and maize: insights into iron (Fe) homeostasis.

Iron (Fe) is an essential element for plant life. Its deficiency impedes growth and development and excessive iron can cause the toxic effect via the Fenton reaction. Thus, plants have developed various mechanisms to acquire, distribute and utilize Fe for the maintenance of their iron homeostasis at cellular and systemic levels. A basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor family plays essential roles in many regulatory and development processes in plants. In this study, we aimed to understand the roles of bHLH38, bHLH39, bHLH100 and bHLH101 genes for Fe homeostasis in Arabidopsis, tomato, rice, soybean and maize species by using bioinformatics approaches. The gene/protein sequence analyses of these genes demonstrated that all bHLH proteins comprised helix-loop-helix DNA binding domain (PF00010) with varied exon numbers between 2 and 13. The phylogenetic analysis did not reveal a clear distinction between monocot and dicot plants. A total of 61 cis-elements were found in promotor sequences, including biotic and abiotic stress responsiveness, hormone responsiveness, and tissue specific expressions. The some structural divergences were identified in predicted 3D structures of bHLH proteins with different channels numbers. The co-expression network analysis demonstrated that bHLH39 and bHLH101 played more important roles in Fe regulation in Arabidopsis. The digital expression analysis showed various expression profiles of bHLH genes which were identified in developmental stages, anatomical parts, and perturbations. Particularly, bHLH39 and bHLH101 genes were found to be more active genes in Fe homeostasis. As a result, our findings can contribute to understanding of bHLH38, bHLH39, bHLH100 and bHLH101 genes in Fe homeostasis in plants.