Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the involvement of an MYB transcriptional activator, SmMYB108, in anther dehiscence in eggplant

Ruolin Hu; Jiali Wang; Huiqing Yang; Dayong Wei; Qinglin Tang; Yang Yang; Shibing Tian; Zhimin Wang

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1164467

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the involvement of an MYB transcriptional activator, SmMYB108, in anther dehiscence in eggplant

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jul 11:14:1164467. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1164467. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ruolin Hu^{1

2}, Jiali Wang^{1

2}, Huiqing Yang^{1

2}, Dayong Wei^{1

2}, Qinglin Tang^{1

2}, Yang Yang³, Shibing Tian³, Zhimin Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
² Chongqing Key Laboratory of Olericulture, Chongqing, China.
³ The Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chongqing, China.

Abstract

Male sterility is a highly attractive agronomic trait as it effectively prevents self-fertilization and facilitates the production of high-quality hybrid seeds in plants. Timely release of mature pollen following anther dehiscence is essential for stamen development in flowering plants. Although several theories have been proposed regarding this, the specific mechanism of anther development in eggplant remains elusive. In this study, we selected an R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene, SmMYB108, that encodes a protein localized primarily in the nucleus by comparing the transcriptomics of different floral bud developmental stages of the eggplant fertile line, F142. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that SmMYB108 was preferentially expressed in flowers, and its expression increased significantly on the day of flowering. Overexpression of SmMYB108 in tobacco caused anther dehiscence. In addition, we found that SmMYB108 primarily functions as a transcriptional activator via C-terminal activation (amino acid 262-317). Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed that genes (SmMYB21, SmARF6, and SmARF8) related to anther development targeted the SmMYB108 promoter. Overall, our results provide insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of anther development by SmMYB108.

Keywords: MYB transcription factor; RNA-seq; anther dehiscence; eggplant; regulation of gene expression.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the earmarked fund for CARS (Grant No. CARS-23-A08), Sichuan Chongqing cooperation project (cstc2021jscx-cylhX0002).