Transcriptome analysis provides StMYBA1 gene that regulates potato anthocyanin biosynthesis by activating structural genes

Xijuan Zhao; Huiling Zhang; Tengfei Liu; Yanan Zhao; Xinxi Hu; Shengxuan Liu; Yuan Lin; Botao Song; Changzheng He

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1087121

Transcriptome analysis provides StMYBA1 gene that regulates potato anthocyanin biosynthesis by activating structural genes

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jan 20:14:1087121. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1087121. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xijuan Zhao^{1

2}, Huiling Zhang³, Tengfei Liu², Yanan Zhao³, Xinxi Hu¹, Shengxuan Liu², Yuan Lin¹, Botao Song², Changzheng He¹

Affiliations

¹ Engineering Research Center for Germplasm Innovation and New Variety Breeding of Horticultural Crops, Key Laboratory for Vegetable Biology of Hunan Province, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China.
² Key Laboratory of Potato Biology and Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
³ College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.

Abstract

Anthocyanin biosynthesis is affected by light, temperature, and other environmental factors. The regulation mode of light on anthocyanin synthesis in apple, pear, tomato and other species has been reported, while not clear in potato. In this study, potato RM-210 tubers whose peel will turn purple gradually after exposure to light were selected. Transcriptome analysis was performed on RM-210 tubers during anthocyanin accumulation. The expression of StMYBA1 gene continued to increase during the anthocyanin accumulation in RM-210 tubers. Moreover, co-expression cluster analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that the expression patterns of StMYBA1 gene were highly correlated with structural genes CHS and CHI. The promoter activity of StMYBA1 was significantly higher in light conditions, and StMYBA1 could activate the promoter activity of structural genes StCHS, StCHI, and StF3H. Further gene function analysis found that overexpression of StMYBA1 gene could promote anthocyanin accumulation and structural gene expression in potato leaves. These results demonstrated that StMYBA1 gene promoted potato anthocyanin biosynthesis by activating the expression of structural genes under light conditions. These findings provide a theoretical basis and genetic resources for the regulatory mechanism of potato anthocyanin synthesis.

Keywords: StMYBA1; anthocyanin biosynthesis; light-induced; potato; transcriptional activation.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-09), the Training Plan for Young Backbone Teachers in the Colleges and Universities of Henan Province (2021GGJS049).