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Article|01 Jul 2020|OPEN
CsMYB60 directly and indirectly activates structural genes to promote the biosynthesis of flavonols and proanthocyanidins in cucumber
Jialin Li1 , Qianqian Luan1 , Jing Han1 , Cunjia Zhang1 , Mengyu Liu1 and Zhonghai Ren,1 ,
1State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production, Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops in Huang-Huai Region, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Horticultural Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018 Shandong, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: zhren@sdau.edu.cn

Horticulture Research 7,
Article number: 103 (2020)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-020-0327-z
Views: 1279

Received: 13 Feb 2020
Revised: 18 Apr 2020
Accepted: 20 Apr 2020
Published online: 01 Jul 2020

Abstract

Flavonols and proanthocyanidins (PAs) are the main pigments in the black spines of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) fruit, and CsMYB60 is a key regulator of the biosynthesis of flavonols and PAs. However, in cucumber, the tissue distribution pattern of flavonols and PAs and the mechanism of their biosynthesis regulated by CsMYB60 remain unclear. In this study, we clarified the tissue-specific distribution of flavonoids and the unique transcriptional regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis in cucumber. CsMYB60 activated CsFLS and CsLAR by binding to their promoters and directly or indirectly promoted the expression of CsbHLH42, CsMYC1, CsWD40, and CsTATA-box binding protein, resulting in the formation of complexes of these four proteins to increase the expression of Cs4CL and interact with CsTATA-box binding protein to regulate the expression of CsCHS, thereby regulating the biosynthesis of flavonols and PAs in cucumber. Our data provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of flavonoid biosynthesis, which will facilitate molecular breeding to improve fruit quality in cucumber.