AUTHOR=Zhao Yan , Zhang Guanghui , Tang Qingyan , Song Wanling , Gao Qingqing , Xiang Guisheng , Li Xia , Liu Guanze , Fan Wei , Li Xiaoning , Yang Shengchao , Zhai Chenxi 

TITLE=EbMYBP1, a R2R3-MYB transcription factor, promotes flavonoid biosynthesis in Erigeron breviscapus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.946827

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.946827

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Erigeron breviscapus</italic>, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, is enriched in flavonoids that are beneficial to human health. While we know that R2R3-MYB transcription factors (TFs) are crucial to flavonoid pathway, the transcriptional regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis in <italic>E. breviscapus</italic> has not been fully elucidated. Here, <italic>EbMYBP1</italic>, a R2R3-MYB transcription factor, was uncovered as a regulator involved in the regulation of flavonoid accumulation. Transcriptome and metabolome analysis revealed that a large group of genes related to flavonoid biosynthesis were significantly changed, accompanied by significantly increased concentrations of the flavonoid in <italic>EbMYBP1-</italic>OE transgenic tobacco compared with the wild-type (WT). <italic>In vitro</italic> and <italic>in vivo</italic> investigations showed that <italic>EbMYBP1</italic> participated in flavonoid biosynthesis, acting as a nucleus-localized transcriptional activator and activating the transcription of flavonoid-associated genes like <italic>FLS</italic>, <italic>F3H</italic>, <italic>CHS</italic>, and <italic>CHI</italic> by directly binding to their promoters. Collectively, these new findings are advancing our understanding of the transcriptional regulation that modulates the flavonoid biosynthesis.</p>