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Article|01 Jun 2020|OPEN
MYB41, MYB107, and MYC2 promote ABA-mediated primary fatty alcohol accumulation via activation of AchnFAR in wound suberization in kiwifruit
Xiaopeng Wei1 , Linchun Mao1,2 , , Xiaobo Wei1 and Ming Xia1 , Changjie Xu,3
1College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Agro-Food Processing, Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Postharvest Handling of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
2Ningbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, 315100, Ningbo, China
3Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: linchun@zju.edu.cn

Horticulture Research 7,
Article number: 86 (2020)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-020-0309-1
Views: 1405

Received: 04 Oct 2019
Revised: 26 Mar 2020
Accepted: 30 Mar 2020
Published online: 01 Jun 2020

Abstract

Wound damage triggers the accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA), which induces the expression of a large number of genes involved in wound suberization in plants. Fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR) catalyzes the generation of primary fatty alcohols by the reduction of fatty acids in suberin biosynthesis. However, the regulatory effects of transcription factors (TFs) on AchnFAR in response to ABA are unexplored. In this study, kiwifruit AchnFAR displayed a biological function analogous to that of FAR in transiently overexpressed tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaves. The positive role of TFs, including AchnMYB41, AchnMYB107, and AchnMYC2, in the regulation of AchnFAR was identified. The three TFs could individually bind to the AchnFAR promoter to activate gene transcription in yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays. Transient overexpression of TFs in tobacco leaves resulted in the upregulation of aliphatic synthesis genes (including FAR) and the increase in aliphatics, including primary alcohols, α,ω-diacids, ω-hydroxyacids, and fatty acids. Moreover, exogenous ABA treatment elevated TF-mediated AchnFAR expression and the accumulation of primary alcohols. Conversely, fluridone, an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, suppressed the expression of AchnFAR and TF genes and reduced the formation of primary alcohols. The results indicate that AchnMYB41, AchnMYB107, and AchnMYC2 activate AchnFAR transcription to promote ABA-mediated primary alcohol formation in wound suberization in kiwifruit.