Wei Wei: The Plant Cell First Author

Wei Wei, first author of “Proteasomal degradation of MaMYB60 mediated by the E3 ligase MaBAH1 causes high temperature-induced repression of chlorophyll catabolism and green ripening in banana”

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University

Education: Ph.D., South China Agricultural University, China

Non-scientific Interests: Music, Movie, Flying Disc

Brief biography: I joined the lab of Prof. Jianye Chen and Prof. Wangjin Lu at South China Agricultural University in 2016 to pursue my Ph.D. studies. After receiving the Ph.D. degree in 2021, I stayed on and continued my research there as a Postdoctoral Fellow. My research is mainly focused on the molecular regulation of banana fruit ripening and quality formation with a focus on discovering transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory modules. Banana fruits ripening above 24 °C (e.g., 30 °C) fail to develop yellow peel, a phenomenon called green ripening, which greatly reduces their marketability. The precise molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon remain unknown. In our research, we found that chlorophyll catabolic genes (CCGs) were repressed during the green ripening of banana fruits at 30 °C. A MYB transcription factor, MaMYB60, was identified as a direct upstream regulator of these CCGs, and the activation of MaMYB60 on CCGs was weakened at 30 °C. More importantly, a RING-type E3 ligase MaBAH1 ubiquitinated and degraded MaMYB60 to attenuate MaMYB60-induced trans-activation of CCGs and chlorophyll degradation. Furthermore, the MaBAH1-mediated degradation of MaMYB60 was enhanced under high temperatures, which dampened MaMYB60-promoted chlorophyll degradation. Together, we establish a novel and temperature-responsive MaBAH1-MaMYB60-CCGs module that regulates high temperature-induced repression of chlorophyll catabolism and green ripening in bananas. I am continuing this research to unravel other transcription factors as well as post-translational protein and epigenetic modifiers involved in green ripening, which will deepen our understanding of transcriptional and post-translational regulatory mechanisms of temperature stress-affected fruit quality formation and ripening in bananas.

姓名：卫玮

现在职位：华南农业大学博士后

教育经历：华南农业大学农学博士

兴趣爱好：音乐，电影，飞盘运动

个人简介：我于2016年进入华南农业大学园艺学院硕博连读，师从陈建业教授和陆旺金教授，毕业后进入园艺学流动站从事博士后研究工作。我的研究方向是转录因子和蛋白质修饰调控香蕉果实成熟和品质形成的分子机制。香蕉果实在24°C以上（如30°C）的高温下，后熟过程中果皮叶绿素降解受阻，不能正常转黄，出现青皮熟现象，严重影响其色泽品质和销售价格。本研究中，我们发现高温通过显著下调5个叶绿素降解基因（CCGs）的表达来抑制香蕉果皮叶绿素的降解。转录因子MaMYB60可直接靶定CCGs的启动子并激活其转录，并且高温抑制了MaMYB60的激活能力。E3连接酶MaBAH1可以泛素化降解MaMYB60，并减弱MaMYB60对CCGs的激活效应。高温下MaBAH1对MaMYB60的泛素化降解加强，削弱了MaMYB60对叶绿素降解的促进效应，进而引起青皮熟。我们的研究结果揭示了一条涉及MaBAH1、MaMYB60和叶绿素降解基因的调控香蕉果实叶绿素降解和高温诱导青皮熟的新途径，从转录和翻译后水平解析高温影响果实色泽品质形成的生物学机制提供了新见解。今后，我将继续挖掘其他转录因子、蛋白质修饰和表观遗传因子，从转录、翻译后和表观遗传等多维角度上进一步解析温度胁迫影响香蕉果实品质形成的生物学机制。