SiLRL1, a bHLH transcription factor from foxtail millet, promotes carotenoid accumulation and improves drought tolerance.

ABSTRACT: Foxtail millet, an ancient cereal crop domesticated in China, is valued for its nutritional richness, particularly its carotenoid content. Carotenoids play critical roles in plant development and stress responses, and their metabolic pathways are regulated by various transcription factors (TFs). However, the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms controlling carotenoid accumulation in cereal crops remain poorly understood. In this study, we characterized SiLRL1, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) TF in foxtail millet, and investigated its role in carotenoid metabolism and abiotic stress tolerance. Phylogenetic analysis classified SiLRL1 into subfamily XI of the bHLH family, which lacks a DNA-binding basic region but retains the HLH dimerization domain. Heterologous expression of SiLRL1 in Arab

SUBMITTER: Huo Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12797406 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature