Related to ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE3/VIVIPAROUS1 (ABI3/VP1, RAV), transcription factors (TFs) belonging to the APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSIVE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) TF family play critical roles in plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic and biotic stress. In this study, 11 novel RAV TFs were identified in pear (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd). A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the TFs clustered into three groups with 10 conserved motifs, some of which were group- or subgroup-specific, implying that they are important for the functions of the RAVs in these clades. RAVs in Pyrus and Malus were closely related, and the former showed a collinear relationship. Analysis of their expression patterns in different tissues and at various growth stages and their responses to abiotic and biotic stress suggested that PbRAV6 and PbRAV7 play important roles in drought stress and salt stress, respectively. We investigated the function of RAVs in pear peel coloration using two red pear varieties with different color patterns and applying data from transcriptome analyses. We found that PbRAV6 participates in the regulation of pericarp color. These findings provide insight into a new TF family in pear and a basis for further studies on the response to drought stress and fruit coloration in this commercially important crop.
Keywords: RAV transcription factor; anthocyanin biosynthesis; functional characterization; genome-wide analysis; pear.