Nitrogen depletion and small R3-MYB transcription factors affecting anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis leaves.

Ternary complexes consisting of a R2R3-MYB, a bHLH and a WD40 protein (MBW complexes) regulate trichome formation and anthocyanin synthesis in plants. Small R3-MYBs interact with the MBW complexes to exert a negative feedback, and thereby participate in regulation of epidermal cell fate, for example trichome numbers and clustering in leaves. In Arabidopsis thaliana, GL3, a bHLH transcription factor, is important in the MBW complex regulating trichome formation as well as in the MBW complex induced by nitrogen depletion and promoting anthocyanin formation.