Work

Up-regulation of PsbHLH3 promotes cold-triggered anthocyanin biosynthesis in the amber flesh of black plums

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Cold storage of amber-fleshed black plums induced the biosynthesis and accumulation of anthocyanin in plum fruit, which caused the color change of the flesh tissue when stored at low temperature. bHLH transcription factors had potential functions in response to cold induction and anthocyanin biosynthesis. To investigate the role of bHLH genes, two amber-fleshed and black-skinned cultivars ( Prunus salicina Lindl. cv. Friar and cv. Angeleno) were selected as fruit material to conduct transcriptomic and bioinformatics analysis. The differentially expressed bHLH s genes were identified via RNA sequencing and verified by qRT-PCR. Ten bHLH s genes, containing 5 up-regulated and 5 down-regulated, were identified as the most significantly altered during cold-induced flesh reddening. The structure of these 10 bHLH proteins was characterized, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. Among them, the gene evm.TU.Chr8.2504, identified as PsbHLH3 , exhibits low temperature responsiveness and contains MYB-binding sites. Further experiments involving transient overexpression were performed to validate the function of PsbHLH3 in facilitating anthocyanin biosynthesis. The yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation demonstrated that PsbHLH3 interacts with PsMYB10.1. Dual-luciferase assay showed that PsbHLH3 promoted the activation of PsMYB10.1 on the promoter of PsUFGT , and consequently augmenting the transcription of structural genes related to anthocyanin biosynthesis. The study indicated that low temperatures induced the up-regulation of PsbHLH3 , facilitating the opening of ON/OFF molecular switch responsible for the flesh-reddening of plum fruit. This elucidates the role of PsbHLH3 in postharvest regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in plums trigged by cold storage.

Source: Journal of Integrative Agriculture

DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.12.009

Authors: Yubei Wang, Ranran Xu, Yanyan Ma, Zhilei Zhao, Yuhong Gu, Jiankang Cao

Institutions: China Agricultural University, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Hebei University, Hebei Agricultural University

Language: English

Topic: Plant Gene Expression Analysis

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,000