AUTHOR=Zhang Zhen , Li Da-Wei , Jin Jing-Hao , Yin Yan-Xu , Zhang Huai-Xia , Chai Wei-Guo , Gong Zhen-Hui 

TITLE=VIGS approach reveals the modulation of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes by CaMYB in chili pepper leaves

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.00500

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.00500

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The purple coloration of pepper leaves arises from the accumulation of anthocyanin. Three regulatory and 12 structural genes have been characterized for their involvement in the anthocyanin biosynthesis. Examination of the abundance of these genes in leaves showed that the majority of them differed between anthocyanin pigmented line Z1 and non-pigmented line A3. Silencing of the R2R3-<italic>MYB</italic> transcription factor <italic>CaMYB</italic> in pepper leaves of Z1 resulted in the loss of anthocyanin accumulation. Moreover, the expression of multiple genes was altered in the silenced leaves. The expression of <italic>MYC</italic> was significantly lower in <italic>CaMYB</italic>-silenced leaves, whereas <italic>WD40</italic> showed the opposite pattern. Most structural genes including <italic>CHS, CHI, F3H, F3</italic>′<italic>5</italic>′<italic>H, DFR, ANS, UFGT, ANP</italic>, and <italic>GST</italic> were repressed in <italic>CaMYB</italic>-silenced foliage with the exception of <italic>PAL, C4H</italic>, and <italic>4CL</italic>. These results indicated that <italic>MYB</italic> plays an important role in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthetic related genes. Besides <italic>CaMYB</italic> silenced leaves rendered more sporulation of <italic>Phytophthora capsici Leonian</italic> indicating that <italic>CaMYB</italic> might be involved in the defense response to pathogens.</p>