Plants require sophisticated regulatory mechanisms to ensure the degree of anthocyanin pigmentation is appropriate to myriad developmental and environmental signals. Central to this process are the activity of MYB-bHLH-WD repeat (MBW) complexes that regulate the transcription of anthocyanin genes. In this study, the gene regulatory network that regulates anthocyanin synthesis in petunia (Petunia hybrida) has been characterized. Genetic and molecular evidence show that the R2R3-MYB, MYB27, is an anthocyanin repressor that functions as part of the MBW complex and represses transcription through its C-terminal EAR motif. MYB27 targets both the anthocyanin pathway genes and basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) ANTHOCYANIN1 (AN1), itself an essential component of the MBW activation complex for pigmentation. Other features of the regulatory network identified include inhibition of AN1 activity by the competitive R3-MYB repressor MYBx and the activation of AN1, MYB27, and MYBx by the MBW activation complex, providing for both reinforcement and feedback regulation. We also demonstrate the intercellular movement of the WDR protein (AN11) and R3-repressor (MYBx), which may facilitate anthocyanin pigment pattern formation. The fundamental features of this regulatory network in the Asterid model of petunia are similar to those in the Rosid model of Arabidopsis thaliana and are thus likely to be widespread in the Eudicots.
SUMMARYWe present an investigation of anthocyanin regulation over the entire petunia plant, determining the mechanisms governing complex floral pigmentation patterning and environmentally induced vegetative anthocyanin synthesis. DEEP PURPLE (DPL) and PURPLE HAZE (PHZ) encode members of the R2R3-MYB transcription factor family that regulate anthocyanin synthesis in petunia, and control anthocyanin production in vegetative tissues and contribute to floral pigmentation. In addition to these two MYB factors, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factor ANTHOCYANIN1 (AN1) and WD-repeat protein AN11, are also essential for vegetative pigmentation. The induction of anthocyanins in vegetative tissues by high light was tightly correlated to the induction of transcripts for PHZ and AN1. Interestingly, transcripts for PhMYB27, a putative R2R3-MYB active repressor, were highly expressed during non-inductive shade conditions and repressed during high light. The competitive inhibitor PhMYBx (R3-MYB) was expressed under high light, which may provide feedback repression. In floral tissues DPL regulates vein-associated anthocyanin pigmentation in the flower tube, while PHZ determines light-induced anthocyanin accumulation on exposed petal surfaces (bud-blush). A model is presented suggesting how complex floral and vegetative pigmentation patterns are derived in petunia in terms of MYB, bHLH and WDR co-regulators.
The cytokinins have been implicated in many facets of plant growth and development including cell division and differentiation, shoot and root growth, apical dominance, senescence, fruit and seed development, and the response to biotic and abiotic stressors. Cytokinin levels are regulated by a balance between biosynthesis [isopentenyl transferase (IPT)], activation [Lonely Guy (LOG)], inactivation (O-glucosyl transferase), re-activation (β-glucosidase), and degradation [cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX)]. During senescence, the levels of active cytokinins decrease, with premature senescence leading to a decrease in yield. During the early stages of fruit and seed development, cytokinin levels are transiently elevated, and coincide with nuclear and cell divisions which are a determinant of final seed size. Exogenous application of cytokinin, ectopic expression of IPT, or down-regulation of CKX have, on occasions, led to increased seed yield, leading to the suggestion that cytokinin may be limiting yield. However, manipulation of cytokinins is complex, not only because of their pleiotropic nature but also because the genes coding for biosynthesis and metabolism belong to multigene families, the members of which are themselves spatially and temporally differentiated. Previous research on yield of rice showed that plant breeders could directly target the cytokinins. Modern genome editing tools could be employed to target and manipulate cytokinin levels to increase seed yield with the concurrent aim of maintaining quality. However, how the cytokinin level is modified and whether IPT or CKX is targeted may depend on whether the plant is considered to be in a source-limiting environment or to be sink limited.
The Lc petunia system, which displays enhanced, light-induced vegetative pigmentation, was used to investigate how high light affects anthocyanin biosynthesis, and to assess the effects of anthocyanin pigmentation upon photosynthesis. Lc petunia plants displayed intense purple anthocyanin pigmentation throughout the leaves and stems when grown under high-light conditions, yet remain acyanic when grown under shade conditions. The coloured phenotypes matched with an accumulation of anthocyanins and flavonols, as well as the activation of the early and late flavonoid biosynthetic genes required for flavonol and anthocyanin production. Pigmentation in Lc petunia only occurred under conditions which normally induce a modest amount of anthocyanin to accumulate in wild-type Mitchell petunia [Petunia axillaris×(Petunia axillaris×Petunia hybrida cv. ‘Rose of Heaven’)]. Anthocyanin pigmentation in Lc petunia leaves appears to screen underlying photosynthetic tissues, increasing light saturation and light compensation points, without reducing the maximal photosynthetic assimilation rate (Amax). In the Lc petunia system, where the bHLH factor Leaf colour is constitutively expressed, expression of the bHLH (Lc) and WD40 (An11) components of the anthocyanin regulatory system were not limited, suggesting that the high-light-induced anthocyanin pigmentation is regulated by endogenous MYB transcription factors.
Summary• Pigment stripes associated with veins (venation) is a common flower colour pattern. The molecular genetics and function of venation were investigated in the genus Antirrhinum, in which venation is determined by Venosa (encoding an R2R3MYB transcription factor).• Pollinator preferences were measured by field tests with Antirrhinum majus. Venosa function was examined using in situ hybridization and transient overexpression. The origin of the venation trait was examined by molecular phylogenetics.• Venation and full-red flower colouration provide a comparable level of advantage for pollinator attraction relative to palely pigmented or white lines. Ectopic expression of Venosa confers pigmentation outside the veins. Venosa transcript is produced only in small areas of the corolla between the veins and the adaxial epidermis. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that venation patterning is an ancestral trait in Antirrhinum. Different accessions of three species with full-red pigmentation with or without venation patterning have been found.• Epidermal-specific venation is defined through overlapping expression domains of the MYB (myoblastoma) and bHLH (basic Helix-Loop-Helix) co-regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis, with the bHLH providing epidermal specificity and Venosa vein specificity. Venation may be the ancestral trait, with full-red pigmentation a derived, polyphyletic trait. Venation patterning is probably not fixed once species evolve full-red floral pigmentation.
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