AUTHOR=Zhang Leyu , Pan Jian , Wang Gang , Du Hui , He Huanle , Pan Junsong , Cai Run 

TITLE=Cucumber CsTRY Negatively Regulates Anthocyanin Biosynthesis and Trichome Formation When Expressed in Tobacco

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01232

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2019.01232

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The development of trichomes (spines) on cucumber fruits is an important agronomic trait. It has been reported that two MYB family members, <italic>CsMYB6</italic> (<italic>Csa3G824850</italic>) and <italic>CsTRY</italic> (<italic>Csa5G139610</italic>) act as negative regulators of trichome or fruit spine initiation. To further study the functions of these two genes, we overexpressed them in tobacco, and found that the flowers and seed coats of transformants overexpressing <italic>CsTRY</italic> displayed an unexpected defect in pigmentation that was not observed in plants overexpressing <italic>CsMYB6</italic>. Moreover, the expression of key genes in the flavonoid synthesis pathway was repressed in <italic>CsTRY</italic> overexpressing plants, which resulted in the decrease of several important flavonoid secondary metabolites. In addition, CsTRY could interact with the AN1 homologous gene CsAN1 (Csa7G044190) in cucumber, which further confirmed that CsTRY not only regulates the development of fruit spines, but also functions in the synthesis of flavonoids, acting as the repressor of anthocyanin synthesis.</p>