PhMYB37 Promotes Shoot Branching in Petunia.

Petunia is one of the world's most important flowers, and its branch development has long been a source of discussion. MYB transcription factors have been identified as important plant branching regulators. In this study, 113 R2R3-MYB genes were identified from the petunia genome. genes, closely related to , were expressed at greater levels in axillary buds and roots. Decapitation and 6-BA did not regulate the expression of . PhMYB37 was localized in the nucleus. Heterologous overexpression of promoted shoot branching in transgenic Arabidopsis while silencing of inhibited shoot branching. These results suggest that plays a critical and positive role in petunia shoot branching.