DESCRIPTION:Buck & Atchley. 2003: The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family of proteins is a group of functionally diverse transcription factors found in both plants and animals. These proteins evolved early in eukaryotic cells before the split of animals and plants, but appear to function in lsquoplant-specificrsquo or lsquoanimal-specificrsquo processes. In animals bHLH proteins are involved in regulation of a wide variety of essential developmental processes. On the contrary, bHLH proteins have not been extensively studied in plants. Those that have been characterized function in anthocyanin biosynthesis, phytochrome signaling, globulin expression, fruit dehiscence, carpel and epidermal development.
Members of this family
SHOULD possess HLH domain
References
Buck, MJ; Atchley, WR. 2003. Phylogenetic analysis of plant basic helix-loop-helix proteins. J. Mol. Evol. 56(6):742-50 PUBMEDID:12911037
Heim, MA; Jakoby, M; Werber, M; Martin, C; Weisshaar, B; Bailey, PC. 2003. The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor family in plants: a genome-wide study of protein structure and functional diversity. Mol. Biol. Evol. 20(5):735-47 PUBMEDID:12679534
Littlewood, TD; Evan, GI. 1995. Transcription factors 2: helix-loop-helix. Protein Profile 2(6):621-702 PUBMEDID:7553065
Massari, ME; Murre, C. 2000. Helix-loop-helix proteins: regulators of transcription in eucaryotic organisms. Mol. Cell. Biol. 20(2):429-40 PUBMEDID:10611221
Quattrocchio, F; Wing, JF; van der Woude, K; Mol, JN; Koes, R. 1998. Analysis of bHLH and MYB domain proteins: species-specific regulatory differences are caused by divergent evolution of target anthocyanin genes. Plant J. 13(4):475-88 PUBMEDID:9680994