In silico analysis of CBL gene family in the halophyte plant Aeluropus littoralis and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), which act as a secondary messenger molecule in the subfamily of the calcium sensor gene family, play a key role in regulating physiological processes, plant growth and development. In order to identification and comparison of proteins involving in calcium signaling in two model of halophyte and glycophyte plants, in silico analysis of the CBL gene family were done in Aeluropus littoralis and Arabidopsis thaliana. Based on sequence homology and orthological relationships with Arabidopsis genes, 6 genes identified in Aeluropus were classified into three protein groups: AlCBL4, AlCBL2 and AlCBL10. Multiple sequence allignment of the CBL gene family in Aeluropus littoralis confirmed the presence of four EF-hand domains in all genes, which provide a structure for calcium ion binding. The high similarity of the physicochemical properties of most Aeluropus proteins to Arabidopsis as well as the strong orthological relationship with each other may indicate the preservation of the function of these genes in the evolutionary process. Analysis of AtCBLs expression patterns in different organs/ abiotic stresses showed that these genes have unique expression profiles due to functional and structural convergent. Different expression profiles of AlCBLs in Aeluropus transcriptome would be an evidence for the functional divergent of these genes. The results obtained from this study can provide valuable information about the properties of this gene family and their functional roles in tolerating to abiotic stresses for future studies.