Recognizing Plant Cell first authors: Yingying Meng

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Yingying Meng, first author of The MYB Activator WHITE PETAL1 Associates with MtTT8 and MtWD40-1 to Regulate Carotenoid-Derived Flower Pigmentation in Medicago truncatula

Current Position: Associate Professor, Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Education: Ph.D in Institute of Crop science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; M.A in College of Agricultural, Northeast Agricultural University; B.S in College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University

Non-scientific Interests: reading, yoga, swimming, traveling

Brief bio: I obtained my undergraduate degree at Qufu Normal University, China, followed by an MSc at Northeast Agricultural University. From 2008 to 2014, I worked with Prof. Chentao Lin on light regulation of plant leaf senescence at Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and received my PhD in 2012. In 2015, I jointed Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and worked with Prof. Hao Lin and Prof. Lifang Niu on functional genomics in forage legumes. In this study, we identified an anthocyanin-related R2R3-MYB protein, WHITE PETAL1 (WP1), that plays a critical role in regulating floral carotenoid pigmentation in Medicago truncatula. Our results revealed WP1 mainly functions as a transcriptional activator and directly regulates the expression of carotenoid biosynthetic genes, and WP1 physically interacts with MtTT8 and MtWD40-1 proteins and that this interaction facilitates WP1’s function in the transcriptional activation of both carotenoid and anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Our findings demonstrate the molecular mechanism of WP1-mediated regulation of floral carotenoid pigmentation and suggest that the conserved MYB-bHLH-WD40 regulatory module functions in carotenoid biosynthesis in M. truncatula, with specificity imposed by the MYB partner.

 

论文：The MYB Activator WHITE PETAL1 Associates with MtTT8 and MtWD40-1 to Regulate Carotenoid-Derived Flower Pigmentation in Medicago truncatula

共同第一作者：孟颖颖

当前职位：中国农业科学院生物技术研究所，副研究员

教育经历：博士毕业于中国农业科学院作物科学研究所；硕士毕业于东北农业大学农学院；本科毕业于曲阜师范大学生命科学学院

兴趣爱好：阅读、瑜伽、游泳、旅游

个人简介：本科毕业于曲阜师范大学，在东北农业大学获得硕士学位。2008-2014年在中国农业科学院作物科学研究所林辰涛教授实验室从事光调控植物叶片衰老方面研究，并于2012年获得理学博士学位。2015年，加入中国农业科学院生物技术研究所林浩研究员和牛丽芳研究员团队开展豆科牧草功能基因组学研究工作。本研究中我们发现了一个花青素相关的R2R3-MYB蛋白WP1对蒺藜苜蓿花中类胡萝卜素的合成具有重要调控作用。实验结果证明WP1作为转录激活子能够直接激活类胡萝卜素合成相关基因的表达，同时WP1与MtTT8 、MtWD40-1形成MBW（MYB-bHLH-WD40）复合体，并且该复合体有助于WP1对类胡萝卜素和花青素合成相关基因的转录激活。上述研究揭示了WP1介导的蒺藜苜蓿类胡萝卜素合成的分子调控机制，表明保守的MBW 调控模式可能同样适用于类胡萝卜素合成调控。