Expression of regulators of the flavonoid pathway was examined in Arabidopsis thaliana wild type and pap1D plants, the latter being a T-DNA activation-tagged line over-expressing the PAP1/MYB75 gene which is a positive regulator of the pathway. Anthocyanin accumulation was induced in plants grown in soil, on agar plates, and hydroponics by withdrawing nitrogen from the growth medium. The agar-grown seedlings and rosette stage plants in hydroponics were further explored, and showed that nitrogen deficiency resulted in the accumulation of not only anthocyanins, but also flavonols. The examination of transcript levels showed that the general flavonoid pathway regulators PAP1 and PAP2 were up-regulated in response to nitrogen deficiency in wild type as well as pap1D plants. Interestingly, PAP2 responded much stronger to nitrogen deficiency than PAP1, 200- and 6-fold increase in transcript levels, respectively, for wild-type seedlings. In rosette leaves the increase was 900-fold for PAP2 and 6-fold for PAP1. At least three different bHLH domain transcription factors promote anthocyanin synthesis, and transcripts for one of these, i.e. GL3 were found to be sixfold enhanced by nitrogen deficiency in rosette leaves. The MYB12 transcription factor, known to regulate flavonol synthesis, was slightly induced by nitrogen deficiency in seedlings. In conclusion, four out of eight regulators involved in the flavonoid pathway showed an enhanced expression from 2 to 1,000 times in response to nitrogen deficiency. Together with MYB factors, especially PAP2, GL3 appears to be the BHLH partner for anthocyanin accumulation in response to nitrogen deficiency.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.