title: A Novel bHLH Transcription Factor Involved in Regulating Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.).
abstract: Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) exhibit a variety of flower colors due to their differing abilities to accumulate anthocyanins. One MYB member, CmMYB6, has been verified as a transcription regulator of chrysanthemum genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis; however, the co-regulators for CmMYB6 remain unclear in chrysanthemum. Here, the expression pattern of CmbHLH2, which is clustered in the IIIf bHLH subgroup, was shown to be positively correlated with the anthocyanin content of cultivars with red, pink and yellow flower colors, respectively. CmbHLH2 significantly upregulated the CmDFR promoter and triggered anthocyanin accumulation when co-expressed with CmMYB6. Yeast one-hybrid analyses indicated that CmbHLH2 was able to bind directly to the CmDFR promoter. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid assays indicated protein-protein interaction between CmbHLH2 and CmMYB6. These results suggest that CmbHLH2 is the essential partner for CmMYB6 in regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in chrysanthemum.
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Li-li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-fen
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Xue-ren
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grierson
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, PR China.
authors.forename: Kun-song
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D031202:Chrysanthemum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular / Q000379:methods; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D010940:Plant Proteins