Open AccessTwo responses to MeJA induction of R2R3-MYB transcription factors regulate flavonoid accumulation in Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch
Author(s) -
Yali Li,
Xiuli Chen,
Jiaqi Wang,
Guangping Zou,
Lu Wang,
Xueshuang Li
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0236565
Subject(s) - myb , methyl jasmonate , transcription factor , glycyrrhiza uralensis , jasmonate , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , flavonoid biosynthesis , regulator , plant hormone , transcriptional regulation , gene expression , gene , biochemistry , transcriptome , arabidopsis , mutant , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Flavonoids are key components of licorice plant that directly affect its medicinal quality. Importantly, the MYB family of transcription factors serves to regulate the synthesis of flavonoids in plants. The MYB transcription factors represent one of the largest families of transcription factors in plants and play important roles in the process of plant growth and development. MYB gene expression is induced by a number of plant hormones, including the lipid-based hormone jasmonate (JA). Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is an endogenous plant growth regulator that can induce the JA signaling pathway, which functions to regulate the synthesis of secondary metabolites, including flavonoids. In this study, MeJA was added to licorice cell suspensions, and RNA-seq analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes. As a result, the MYB transcription factors GlMYB4 and GlMYB88 were demonstrated to respond significantly to MeJA induction. Subsequently, the GlMYB4 and GlMYB88 protein were shown to localize to the cell nucleus, and it was verified that GlMYB4 and GlMYB88 could positively regulate the synthesis of flavonoids in licorice cells. Overall, this research helps illustrate the molecular regulation of licorice flavonoid biosynthesis induced by MeJA.