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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1427359
This article is part of the Research Topic Plant Specialized Metabolisms: Physiological Responses and Molecular Mechanisms View all 4 articles

Role of Rubus chingii BBX gene family in anthocyanin accumulation during fruit ripening

Provisionally accepted
Zhangting Xu Zhangting Xu 1Guihua Zhang Guihua Zhang 2Junyu Chen Junyu Chen 1Yuxin Ying Yuxin Ying 3Lingtao Yao Lingtao Yao 1Xiaoxian Li Xiaoxian Li 1Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva 4Zhenming Yu Zhenming Yu 1*
  • 1 Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
  • 2 Zhejiang Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 3 Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 4 P. O. Box 7, Ikenobe 3011-2, Kagawa-ken, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The B-box (BBX) family, which is a class of zinc finger transcription factors, exhibits special roles in plant growth and development as well as in plants' ability to cope with various stresses. Even though Rubus chingii is an important traditional medicinally edible plant in east Asia, there are no comprehensive studies of BBX members in R. chingii. In this study, 32 RcBBX members were identified, and these were divided into five groups. A collinearity analysis showed that gene duplication events were common, and when combined with a motif analysis of the RcBBX genes, it was concluded that group V genes might have undergone deletion of gene fragments or mutations. Analysis of cis-acting elements revealed that each RcBBX gene contained hormone-, light-, and stress-related elements. Expression patterns of the 32 RcBBX genes during fruit ripening revealed that highest expression occurred at the small green fruit stage. Of note, the expression of several RcBBX genes increased rapidly as fruit developed. These findings, combined with the expression profiles of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes during fruit ripening, allowed us to identify the nuclear-targeted RcBBX26, which positively promoted anthocyanin production in R. chingii. The collective findings of this study shed light on the function of RcBBX genes in different tissues, developmental stages, and in response to two abiotic stresses.

    Keywords: Rubus chingii, BBX, Anthocyanidin, expression analysis, Fruit ripening

    Received: 03 May 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Zhang, Chen, Ying, Yao, Li, Teixeira da Silva and Yu. 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: Zhenming Yu, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China

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