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The AtMYB2 inhibits the formation of axillary meristem in Arabidopsis by repressing RAX1 gene under environmental stresses

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Abstract

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AtMYB2 protein represses the formation of axillary meristems in response to environmental stresses so that plants can undergo a shorter vegetative development stage under environmental stresses.

Abstract

Shoot branching is an important event determined by endogenous factors during the development of plants. The formation of axillary meristem is also significantly repressed by environmental stresses and the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. The REGULATOR OF AXILLARY MERISTEMS (RAX) genes encode the R2R3 MYB transcription factors that have been shown to regulate the formation of axillary meristems in Arabidopsis. The AtMYB2 is also a member of R2R3 MYB gene family whose expression is usually induced by the environmental stresses. In this study, our results showed that AtMYB2 protein plays a pivotal negative regulatory role in the formation of axillary meristem. AtMYB2 is mainly expressed in the leaf axils as that of RAX1. The environmental stresses can increase the expression of AtMYB2 protein which further inhibits the expression of RAX1 gene by binding to its promoter. Therefore, AtMYB2 protein represses the formation of axillary meristems in response to environmental stresses so that plants can undergo a shorter vegetative development stage under environmental stresses.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technique of China (2013CB967302).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China

    Tianqi Jia, Kaidian Zhang, Fan Li, Yifeng Huang, Manman Fan & Tao Huang

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  1. Tianqi Jia
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  2. Kaidian Zhang
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  3. Fan Li
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  4. Yifeng Huang
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  5. Manman Fan
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  6. Tao Huang
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Contributions

TJ, KZ, FL, YH, and MF conducted experiments. TJ analyzed data. TH designed research and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Tao Huang.

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Communicated by Neal Stewart.

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Supplementary file1 (DOC 63 kb)

299_2020_2602_MOESM2_ESM.jpg

Supplementary file2 Supplemental Figure 1. AtMYB2 gene does not affect the expression of LAS gene. a, b The promoter activity of LAS gene in 35Spro::HA:AtMYB2 gLAS::GFP:GUS plant (b) is comparable to that in the control gLAS::GFP:GUS plant (a). Scale bars = 50 μm (JPG 115 kb)

299_2020_2602_MOESM3_ESM.jpg

Supplementary file3 Supplemental Figure 2. Analysis of atmyb2 mutant. a The diagram of atmyb2 mutant (Salk_043075) with T-DNA insertion in second exon. b Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis (45 cycles) of endogenous AtMYB2 mRNA in atmyb2 mutant in comparison with WT plant (JPG 128 kb)

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Jia, T., Zhang, K., Li, F. et al. The AtMYB2 inhibits the formation of axillary meristem in Arabidopsis by repressing RAX1 gene under environmental stresses. Plant Cell Rep 39, 1755–1765 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-020-02602-3

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