Genome-wide comparative analysis of structural features in fungal GATA transcription factors: Insights from 796 fungal species

Fungi constitute a highly diverse and ecologically important kingdom with central roles in nutrient cycling, symbiosis, and pathogenesis. The regulation of these processes involves multiple layers of control, with transcription factors (TFs) playing key roles in shaping condition-specific gene expression within complex regulatory networks. In particular, fungal GATA TFs are a family of DNA-binding proteins characterized by a conserved GATA zinc finger motif that recognizes the consensus sequence WGATAR (W = A/T, R = A/G) in target gene promoters. They function as key regulators of light response, nitrogen and iron metabolism, secondary metabolism, and reproduction. Despite their functional importance, structural analyses of fungal GATA TFs across diverse species remain limited, hindering understanding of their structural diversity and evolutionary patterns. To address this gap, this study conducted a comprehensive genome-wide comparative analysis of the structural and molecular features of 7,846 fungal GATA TFs from 796 species across eleven divisions, sourced from EnsemblFungi and MycoCosm. Domain architecture, GATA motif diversity, and motif-domain associations of fungal GATA TFs were systematically characterized, and motif diversity was further compared with plant and animal GATA TFs to place fungal GATA evolution in a broader eukaryotic context. Phylogenetic relationships based on GATA domain sequences enabled the identification of putative orthologous groups and the inference of lineage-specific functional diversification. Structural predictions of representative fungal GATA TFs were performed to support functional interpretation. In addition, order-level analyses of Dikarya GATA TFs revealed lineage-specific architectural patterns. Taken together, this integrative analysis provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the evolutionary and functional diversification of fungal GATA TFs.