College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
BMC Genomics. 2023 Aug 30;24(1):505. doi: 10.1186/s12864-023-09605-w.
Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) are regarded as "superfoods" attributed to large amounts of anthocyanins, a group of flavonoid metabolites, which provide pigmentation in plant and beneficial effects for human health. MYB transcription factor is one of vital components in the regulation of plant secondary metabolism, which occupies a dominant position in the regulatory network of anthocyanin biosynthesis. However, the role of MYB family in blueberry responding to anthocyanin biosynthesis remains elusive.
In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of VcMYBs in blueberry based on the genome data, including phylogenetic relationship, conserved motifs, identification of differentially expressed MYB genes during fruit development and their expression profiling, etc. A total of 437 unique MYB sequences with two SANT domains were identified in blueberry, which were divided into 3 phylogenetic trees. Noticeably, there are many trigenic and tetragenic VcMYBs pairs with more than 95% identity to each other. Meanwhile, the transcript accumulations of VcMYBs were surveyed underlying blueberry fruit development, and they showed diverse expression patterns, suggesting various functional roles in fruit ripening. More importantly, distinct transcript profiles between skin and pulp of ripe fruit were observed for several VcMYBs, such as VcMYB437, implying the potential roles in anthocyanin biosynthesis.
Totally, 437 VcMYBs were identified and characterized. Subsequently, their transcriptional patterns were explored during fruit development and fruit tissues (skin and pulp) closely related to anthocyanin biosynthesis. These genome-wide data and findings will contribute to demonstrating the functional roles of VcMYBs and their regulatory mechanisms for anthocyanins production and accumulation in blueberry in the future study.
蓝莓（Vaccinium corymbosum）被认为是“超级食物”，其富含大量的花色苷，这是一类黄酮类代谢物，为植物提供色素，并有益于人类健康。MYB 转录因子是植物次生代谢物调节的重要组成部分之一，在花色苷生物合成的调控网络中占据主导地位。然而，MYB 家族在蓝莓响应花色苷生物合成中的作用仍不清楚。
在这项研究中，我们基于基因组数据对蓝莓中的 VcMYBs 进行了全面分析，包括系统发育关系、保守基序、果实发育过程中差异表达 MYB 基因的鉴定及其表达谱等。在蓝莓中总共鉴定到了 437 个具有两个 SANT 结构域的独特 MYB 序列，分为 3 个系统发育树。值得注意的是，有许多三基因和四基因的 VcMYB 对彼此之间具有 95%以上的同源性。同时，我们调查了蓝莓果实发育过程中 VcMYB 的转录积累情况，它们表现出不同的表达模式，表明在果实成熟过程中具有不同的功能作用。更重要的是，在成熟果实的果皮和果肉之间观察到了几个 VcMYB 的不同转录谱，例如 VcMYB437，暗示它们在花色苷生物合成中可能发挥作用。
总共鉴定和描述了 437 个 VcMYB。随后，在果实发育过程中以及与花色苷生物合成密切相关的果实组织（果皮和果肉）中探索了它们的转录模式。这些全基因组数据和发现将有助于未来的研究展示 VcMYB 的功能作用及其对蓝莓中花色苷产生和积累的调控机制。
