Department of Plant Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
Key Laboratory of New Technology in Agricultural Application of Beijing, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 3;7:43715. doi: 10.1038/srep43715.
The flavonoid compounds, proanthocyanidins (PAs), protect plants from biotic stresses, contribute to the taste of many fruits, and are beneficial to human health in the form of dietary antioxidants. In this study, we functionally characterized two Malus crabapple R2R3-MYB transcription factors, McMYB12a and McMYB12b, which co-regulate PAs and anthocyanin biosynthesis. McMYB12a was shown to be mainly responsible for upregulating the expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes by binding to their promoters, but to be only partially responsible for regulating PAs biosynthetic genes. In contrast, McMYB12b showed preferential binding to the promoters of PAs biosynthetic genes. Overexpression of McMYB12a and McMYB12b in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) altered the expression of flavonoid biosynthetic genes and promoted the accumulation of PAs and anthocyanins in tobacco petals. Conversely, transient silencing their expression in crabapple plants, using a conserved gene region, resulted in reduced PAs and anthocyanin production a green leaf phenotype. Meanwhile, transient overexpression of the two genes and silenced McMYB12s in apple (Malus domestica) fruit had a similar effect as overexpression in tobacco and silenced in crabapple. This study reveals a new mechanism for the coordinated regulation of PAs and anthocyanin accumulation in crabapple leaves, which depends on an auto-regulatory balance involving McMYB12a and McMYB12b expression.
类黄酮化合物,原花青素(PAs),保护植物免受生物胁迫,有助于许多水果的口感,并以膳食抗氧化剂的形式有益于人类健康。在这项研究中,我们功能表征了两个苹果属海棠 R2R3-MYB 转录因子 McMYB12a 和 McMYB12b,它们共同调节 PAs 和花青素生物合成。McMYB12a 主要通过与启动子结合来上调花青素生物合成基因的表达,但仅部分负责调节 PAs 生物合成基因。相比之下,McMYB12b 显示出对 PAs 生物合成基因启动子的优先结合。在烟草(Nicotiana tabacum)中过表达 McMYB12a 和 McMYB12b 改变了类黄酮生物合成基因的表达,并促进了烟草花瓣中 PAs 和花青素的积累。相反,使用保守基因区域瞬时沉默它们在海棠植物中的表达导致 PAs 和花青素产生减少和绿叶表型。同时,在苹果(Malus domestica)果实中转基因过表达这两个基因并沉默 McMYB12s 与在烟草中转基因过表达和在海棠中沉默具有相似的效果。这项研究揭示了一个新的机制,用于协调调控海棠叶片中 PAs 和花青素的积累,这依赖于涉及 McMYB12a 和 McMYB12b 表达的自动调节平衡。