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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1444081
This article is part of the Research Topic In-Depth Interpretation of Critical Genomic Information Related to the Biosynthesis of Key Specialized (Secondary) Metabolism in Medicinal Plants View all 3 articles

Genome-Wide Identification of TCP Transcription Factors and Their Potential Roles in Hydrolyzable Tannin Production in Quercus variabilis Cupule

Provisionally accepted
Yaochen Wang Yaochen Wang Jinjin Li Jinjin Li Yixin Chen Yixin Chen Zhaowei Yu Zhaowei Yu Puyuan Liu Puyuan Liu Guolei Li Guolei Li Qinsong Yang Qinsong Yang *
  • Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China

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

    Hydrolyzable tannins (HTs) have garnered significant attention due to their proven beneficial effects in the clinical treatment of various diseases. The cupule of Chinese cork oak (Quercus variabilis Blume) has been used as raw material of traditional medicine for centuries for its high content of HTs. Previous studies have identified UGT84A13 as a key enzyme in the HT biosynthesis pathway in Q. variabilis, but the transcriptional regulation network of UGT84A13 remains obscure. Here, we performed a comprehensive genome-wide identification of the TCP transcription factors in Q. variabilis, elucidating their molecular evolution and gene structure. Gene expression analysis showed that TCP3 from the CIN subfamily and TCP6 from the PCF subfamily were co-expressed with UGT84A13 in cupule. Further functional characterization using dual-luciferase assays confirmed that TCP3, rather than TCP6, played a role in the transcriptional regulation of UGT84A13, thus promoting HT biosynthesis in the cupule of Q. variabilis. Our work identified TCP family members in Q. variabilis for the first time, and provided novel insights into the transcriptional regulatory network of UGT84A13 and HT biosynthesis in Q. variabilis, explaining the reason why the cupule enriches HTs that could be used for traditional medicine.

    Keywords: Quercus variabilis, traditional medicine, Hydrolyzable Tannins, TCP gene family, UGT84A13

    Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 18 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Li, Chen, Yu, Liu, Li and Yang. 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: Qinsong Yang, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China

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