Genome-wide analysis of trihelix Transcription factor gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Trihelix proteins are the members of gene family encoding transcriptional factors in plants that take part in plant responses to various cellular activities and stresses. The DNA-binding domain of these proteins is a tryptophan enrich tandem repeat forming helix-loop-helix-loop-helix. We retrieved the protein sequence of 28 candidates of trihelix gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana. These 28 proteins are grouped in five subfamilies according to their structural properties. These trihelix members were located on all 5 chromosomes of Arabidopsis with uneven distribution. We characterized diversity in amino acid residues in trihelix domain and found conserved motif in trihelix protein. Further, the gene structure analysis showed the distribution of introns and exons on each gene. The promoter analysis was done and 5 cis-regulatory elements were located on 1 kb of the promoter sequence. Synteny analysis showed the relationship among the trihelix genes. This study will be helpful in providing the in silico genomic information about the trihelix transcriptional factor in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, these findings will be helpful in understanding trihelix family for their diverse role in plant stress and development.