Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants
Abstract Background A high content in anthocyanins, for their health beneficial properties, represents an added value for fruits and vegetables. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most consumed vegetables worldwide and is rich in vitamins and carotenoids. In recent years, purple-skinned tom...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04153-7 |
| _version_ | 1827984800653246464 |
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| author | Jacopo Menconi Pierdomenico Perata Silvia Gonzali |
| author_facet | Jacopo Menconi Pierdomenico Perata Silvia Gonzali |
| author_sort | Jacopo Menconi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background A high content in anthocyanins, for their health beneficial properties, represents an added value for fruits and vegetables. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most consumed vegetables worldwide and is rich in vitamins and carotenoids. In recent years, purple-skinned tomatoes, enriched of anthocyanins, were produced recovering allelic variants from wild Solanum species. The molecular basis of the Anthocyanin fruit (Aft) locus, exploited by breeders to activate the anthocyanin synthesis in tomato epicarp, has been recently identified in the correct splicing of the R2R3 MYB gene AN2like. Aubergine (Abg) is a tomato accession which introgressed from Solanum lycopersicoides a locus activating the synthesis of anthocyanins in the fruit. The Abg locus was mapped in the region of chromosome 10 containing Aft and the possibility that Abg and Aft represented alleles of the same gene was hypothesized. Results We dissected the R2R3 MYB gene cluster located in the Abg genomic introgression and demonstrated that AN2like is correctly spliced in Abg plants and is expressed in the fruit epicarp. Moreover, its silencing specifically inhibits the anthocyanin synthesis. The Abg allele of AN2like undergoes alternative splicing and produces two proteins with different activities. Furthermore, in Abg the master regulator of the anthocyanin synthesis in tomato vegetative tissues, AN2, is very poorly expressed. Finally, a novel R2R3 MYB gene was identified: it encodes another positive regulator of the pathway, whose activity was lost in tomato and in its closest relatives. Conclusion In this study, we propose that AN2like is responsible of the anthocyanin production in Abg fruits. Unlike wild type tomato, the Abg allele of AN2like is active and able to regulate its targets. Furthermore, in Abg alternative splicing leads to two forms of AN2like with different activities, likely representing a novel type of regulation of anthocyanin synthesis in tomato. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:04:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-edaec08415bb40bbbbd7b841b907718d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2229 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:04:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-edaec08415bb40bbbbd7b841b907718d2023-03-22T10:50:12ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292023-03-0123112010.1186/s12870-023-04153-7Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plantsJacopo Menconi0Pierdomenico Perata1Silvia Gonzali2PlantLab, Center of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaPlantLab, Center of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaPlantLab, Center of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaAbstract Background A high content in anthocyanins, for their health beneficial properties, represents an added value for fruits and vegetables. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most consumed vegetables worldwide and is rich in vitamins and carotenoids. In recent years, purple-skinned tomatoes, enriched of anthocyanins, were produced recovering allelic variants from wild Solanum species. The molecular basis of the Anthocyanin fruit (Aft) locus, exploited by breeders to activate the anthocyanin synthesis in tomato epicarp, has been recently identified in the correct splicing of the R2R3 MYB gene AN2like. Aubergine (Abg) is a tomato accession which introgressed from Solanum lycopersicoides a locus activating the synthesis of anthocyanins in the fruit. The Abg locus was mapped in the region of chromosome 10 containing Aft and the possibility that Abg and Aft represented alleles of the same gene was hypothesized. Results We dissected the R2R3 MYB gene cluster located in the Abg genomic introgression and demonstrated that AN2like is correctly spliced in Abg plants and is expressed in the fruit epicarp. Moreover, its silencing specifically inhibits the anthocyanin synthesis. The Abg allele of AN2like undergoes alternative splicing and produces two proteins with different activities. Furthermore, in Abg the master regulator of the anthocyanin synthesis in tomato vegetative tissues, AN2, is very poorly expressed. Finally, a novel R2R3 MYB gene was identified: it encodes another positive regulator of the pathway, whose activity was lost in tomato and in its closest relatives. Conclusion In this study, we propose that AN2like is responsible of the anthocyanin production in Abg fruits. Unlike wild type tomato, the Abg allele of AN2like is active and able to regulate its targets. Furthermore, in Abg alternative splicing leads to two forms of AN2like with different activities, likely representing a novel type of regulation of anthocyanin synthesis in tomato.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04153-7Solanum lycopersicumTomatoAbgAnthocyaninsR2R3 MYBAlternative splicing |
| spellingShingle | Jacopo Menconi Pierdomenico Perata Silvia Gonzali Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants BMC Plant Biology Solanum lycopersicum Tomato Abg Anthocyanins R2R3 MYB Alternative splicing |
| title | Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants |
| title_full | Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants |
| title_fullStr | Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants |
| title_short | Novel R2R3 MYB transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in Aubergine tomato plants |
| title_sort | novel r2r3 myb transcription factors regulate anthocyanin synthesis in aubergine tomato plants |
| topic | Solanum lycopersicum Tomato Abg Anthocyanins R2R3 MYB Alternative splicing |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-023-04153-7 |
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