基于比较基因组学和相互作用组的方法，研究BHLH基因家族的起源，进化和功能的多样性

he basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins make up of a complex multigene family of transcription factors that play the important roles in many biological processes. Although much effort has been made on their functional roles, their evolutionary origin and functional diversity remain to be clarified. In this study, we compared genomes and interactomes of bHLH gene families from model organisms such as human, fly, worm, yeast and Arabidopsis to shed light on origin, evolution and functional diversity of this gene family, inferring that bHLHs might origin in prokaryotes and undergo divergence in different linage because of distinct evolutionary force.