McMYB4 improves temperature adaptation by regulating phenylpropanoid metabolism and hormone signaling in apple.

Temperature changes affect apple development and production. Phenylpropanoid metabolism and hormone signaling play a crucial role in regulating apple growth and development in response to temperature changes. Here, we found that McMYB4 is induced by treatment at 28 °C and 18 °C, and McMYB4 overexpression results in flavonol and lignin accumulation in apple leaves.

The Use of RNA Sequencing and Correlation Network Analysis to Study Potential Regulators of Crabapple Leaf Color Transformation.

Anthocyanins are plant pigments that contribute to the color of leaves, flowers and fruits, and that are beneficial to human health in the form of dietary antioxidants. The study of a transformable crabapple cultivar, 'India magic', which has red buds and green mature leaves, using mRNA profiling of four leaf developmental stages, allowed us to characterize molecular mechanisms regulating red color formation in early leaf development and the subsequent rapid down-regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. This analysis of differential gene expression during leaf development revealed that ethylene signaling-responsive genes are up-regulated during leaf pigmentation.

McWRI1, a transcription factor of the AP2/SHEN family, regulates the biosynthesis of the cuticular waxes on the apple fruit surface under low temperature.

Cuticular waxes of plant and organ surfaces play an important role in protecting plants from biotic and abiotic stress and extending the freshness, storage time and shelf life in the post-harvest agricultural products. WRI1, a transcription factor of AP2/SHEN families, had been found to trigger the related genes taking part in the biosynthesis of seed oil in many plants. But whether WRI1 is involved in the biosynthesis of the cuticular waxes on the Malus fruits surface has been unclear.

Flavonoid Accumulation Plays an Important Role in the Rust Resistance of Plant Leaves.

Cedar-apple rust ( Miyabe) is a fungal disease that causes substantial injury to apple trees and results in fruit with reduced size and quality and a lower commercial value. The molecular mechanisms underlying the primary and secondary metabolic effects of rust spots on the leaves of apple cultivars are poorly understood. Using HPLC, we found that the contents of flavonoid compounds, especially anthocyanin and catechin, were significantly increased in rust-infected symptomatic tissue (RIT).

MYBs affect the variation in the ratio of anthocyanin and flavanol in fruit peel and flesh in response to shade.

Fruit pigment accumulation, which represents an important indicator of nutrient quality and appearance value, is often affected by low light under rain, cloud, fog and haze conditions during the veraison period. It is not known whether continuous low light interferes with the production and accumulation of secondary metabolites in veraison fruit. In this paper, we measured pigments and the transcriptional level of genes related to secondary metabolites, i.