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The transcriptional response of apple alcohol acyltransferase (MdAAT2) to salicylic acid and ethylene is mediated through two apple MYB TFs in transgenic tobacco

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Abstract

Volatile esters are major factors affecting the aroma of apple fruits, and alcohol acyltransferases (AATs) are key enzymes involved in the last steps of ester biosynthesis. The expression of apple AAT (MdAAT2) is known to be induced by salicylic acid (SA) or ethylene in apple fruits, although the mechanism of its transcriptional regulation remains elusive. In this study, we reveal that two apple transcription factors (TFs), MdMYB1 and MdMYB6, are involved in MdAAT2 promoter response to SA and ethylene in transgenic tobacco. According to electrophoretic mobility shift assays, MdMYB1 or MdMYB6 can directly bind in vitro to MYB binding sites in the MdAAT2 promoter. In vivo, overexpression of the two MYB TFs can greatly enhance MdAAT2 promoter activity, as demonstrated by dual luciferase reporter assays in transgenic tobacco. In contrast to the promoter of MdMYB1 or MdMYB6, the MdAAT2 promoter cannot be induced by SA or ethephon (ETH) in transgenic tobacco, even in stigmas in which the MdAAT2 promoter can be highly induced under normal conditions. However, the induced MYB TFs can dramatically enhance MdAAT2 promoter activity under SA or ETH treatment. We conclude that MdMYB1 and MdMYB6 function in MdAAT2 responses to SA and ethylene in transgenic tobacco, suggesting that a similar regulation mechanism may exist in apple.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Roger P. Hellens (The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited) for the pGreen 0800-LUC and pSoup vector plasmids. This work was funded by the National apple Industrial Technology System (CARS-28), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant #30700548), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT0635), the China Post-doctoral Science Foundation (grant #20070410366) and the Doctoral Program Foundation of Shandong Province of China (grant #2007BS06001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Peng-Cheng Li, Shao-Wei Yu, Qing-Qing Li, De-Quan Li & Cheng-Chao Zheng

  2. College of Food Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Jin Shen & Da-Peng Li

  3. National Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology, College of Horticulture Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Huai-Rui Shu

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  1. Peng-Cheng Li
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Correspondence to Da-Peng Li.

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Li, PC., Yu, SW., Shen, J. et al. The transcriptional response of apple alcohol acyltransferase (MdAAT2) to salicylic acid and ethylene is mediated through two apple MYB TFs in transgenic tobacco. Plant Mol Biol 85, 627–638 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-014-0207-8

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