Open AccessSuppression of the biosynthesis of proanthocyanidin in Arabidopsis by a chimeric PAP1 repressor
Author(s) -
Matsui Kyoko,
Tanaka Hideo,
OhmeTakagi Masaru
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
plant biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.525
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1467-7652
pISSN - 1467-7644
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2004.00094.x
Subject(s) - biology , repressor , myb , arabidopsis , regulator , psychological repression , gene , transcription factor , flavonoid biosynthesis , gene silencing , biosynthesis , regulator gene , silique , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , regulation of gene expression , gene expression , transcriptome , mutant
Summary Flavonoids are secondary metabolites that are specific to higher plants. PAP1, a member of the family of MYB domain transcription factors in Arabidopsis , is a positive regulator of the biosynthesis of anthocyanin. We show here that a chimeric PAP1 repressor, in which the EAR‐motif repression domain from SUPERMAN was fused to PAP1, suppressed the expression of four flavonoid biosynthetic genes, namely CHS , DFR , LDOX , and BAN, in siliques, and inhibited the accumulation of proanthocyanidin, even in the presence of an endogenous positive regulator, such as TT2. This suppression resulted in the formation of light yellow seeds in 35S::PAP1SRDX transgenic plants. Our results indicate that PAP1 has the potential ability to regulate the biosynthesis not only of anthocyanin but also of proanthocyanidin. Our gene silencing system, using chimeric repressors, appears to be a useful tool for the manipulation of the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in plants.