Ectopic Expression of <i>FvVND4c</i> Promotes Secondary Cell Wall Thickening and Flavonoid Accumulation in <i>Fragaria vesca</i>
Secondary cell wall (SCW) thickening has a significant effect on the growth and development of plants, as well as in the resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Lignin accounts for the strength of SCW. It is synthesized through the phenylpropanoid pathway that also leads to flavonoid synt...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/9/8110 |
| Summary: | Secondary cell wall (SCW) thickening has a significant effect on the growth and development of plants, as well as in the resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Lignin accounts for the strength of SCW. It is synthesized through the phenylpropanoid pathway that also leads to flavonoid synthesis. The coupling strategies for lignin and flavonoid syntheses are diverse in plants. How their syntheses are balanced by transcriptional regulation in fleshy fruits is still unclear. The diploid strawberry (<i>Fragaria vesca</i>) is a model for fleshy fruits research due to its small genome and wide scope of genetic transformation. SCW thickening is regulated by a multilevel transcriptional regulatory network wherein vascular-related NAC domains (VNDs) act as key regulators. In this study, we systematically characterized VNDs in <i>Fragaria vesca</i> and explored their functions. The overexpression of <i>FvVND4c</i> in diploid strawberry fruits resulted in SCW thickening and fruit color changes accompanied with the accumulation of lignin and flavonoids. Genes related to these phenotypes were also induced upon <i>FvVND4c</i> overexpression. Among the induced genes, we found <i>FvMYB46</i> to be a direct downstream regulator of <i>FvVND4c</i>. The overexpression of <i>FvMYB46</i> resulted in similar phenotypes as <i>FvVND4c</i>, except for the color change. Transcriptomic analyses suggest that both FvVND4c and FvMYB46 act on phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways, and induce lignin synthesis for SCW. These results suggest that FvVND4c and FvMYB46 cooperatively regulate SCW thickening and flavonoid accumulation in <i>Fragaria vesca</i>. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |