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SYSTEMS BIOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND GENE REGULATION

The Grapevine Transcription Factor VvMYBPA1 Regulates Proanthocyanidin Synthesis during Fruit Development^1,[OA]

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Plant Industry, Glen Osmond, 5064, Australia (J.B., F.W.J., A.M.T., A.R.W., S.P.R.); Cooperative Research Centre for Viticulture, Glen Osmond, 5064, Australia (J.B., A.R.W., S.P.R.); and Heidelberger Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany (J.B.)

Proanthocyanidins (PAs; or condensed tannins) can protect plants against herbivores, contribute to the taste of many fruits, and act as dietary antioxidants beneficial for human health. We have previously shown that in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) PA synthesis involves both leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) and anthocyanidin reductase (ANR). Here we report the characterization of a grapevine MYB transcription factor VvMYBPA1, which controls expression of PA pathway genes including both LAR and ANR. Expression of VvMYBPA1 in grape berries correlated with PA accumulation during early berry development and in seeds. In a transient assay, VvMYBPA1 activated the promoters of LAR and ANR, as well as the promoters of several of the general flavonoid pathway genes. VvMYBPA1 did not activate the promoter of VvUFGT, which encodes the anthocyanin-specific enzyme UDP-glucose:flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase, suggesting VvMYBPA1 is specific to regulation of PA biosynthesis in grapes. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) MYB transcription factor TRANSPARENT TESTA2 (TT2) regulates PA synthesis in the seed coat of Arabidopsis. By complementing the PA-deficient seed phenotype of the Arabidopsis tt2 mutant with VvMYBPA1, we confirmed the function of VvMYBPA1 as a transcriptional regulator of PA synthesis. In contrast to ectopic expression of TT2 in Arabidopsis, constitutive expression of VvMYBPA1 resulted in accumulation of PAs in cotyledons, vegetative meristems, leaf hairs, and roots in some of the transgenic seedlings. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a MYB factor that controls genes of the PA pathway in fruit, including both LAR and ANR, and this single MYB factor can induce ectopic PA accumulation in Arabidopsis.

² Present address: Heidelberger Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, Im Neuenheimer Feld 360, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Simon P. Robinson (simon.robinson{at}csiro.au).

^[OA] Open Access articles can be viewed online without a subscription.

www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.106.093203

^* Corresponding author; e-mail simon.robinson{at}csiro.au; fax 61–8–8303–8601.

Received November 16, 2006; accepted December 24, 2006; published January 5, 2007.

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