ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional and Applied Plant Genomics
This article is part of the Research TopicEvolutionary Adaptations of Plant Genes: A Comprehensive Study of Phylogenomics, Epigenetic Changes, and Protein DynamicsView all 15 articles
Identification of Chalcone Isomerase Family Genes and Roles of DnCHI1 in Flavonoid Metabolism in Dendrobium nobile
Provisionally accepted
- Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
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Dendrobium nobile is a prized orchid species with both medicinal and 12 ornamental value, known for accumulating flavonoids that contribute to its bioactivity 13 and flower pigmentation. Chalcone isomerase (CHI), a key enzyme in the flavonoid 14 biosynthesis pathway, catalyzes the conversion of chalcone to naringenin, thereby 15 promoting the production of anthocyanins and other flavonoids. In this study, 16 we present the first systematic analysis of the CHI gene family in D. nobile, 17 classifying them into two subfamilies. Expression profiling revealed that DnCHI1, a 18 type IV CHI, is highly expressed in petals, suggesting a potential role in anthocyanin 19 metabolism. Heterologous transient overexpression assays showed that DnMYB90 20 significantly downregulated endogenous PeCHI expression and reduced anthocyanin 21 accumulation, whereas DnCHI1 overexpression resulted in a 15-fold increase in 22 anthocyanin content. Dual-luciferase reporter and yeast one-hybrid assays further 23 confirmed that DnMYB90 acts as a transcriptional repressor of DnCHI1. These results 24 provide new insights into the regulatory module in anthocyanin biosynthesis in D. 25 nobile, highlighting the functional divergence of CHI genes and their interaction with 26 MYB transcription factors.
Keywords: Dendrobium nobile, Chalcone isomerase, Flavonoid biosynthesis, DnCHI1, MYB
Received: 18 Aug 2025; Accepted: 26 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chang, Zhou, Wang, Liu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhenjian Li, zhenjianli@163.com
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