Abstract
B-BOX proteins are zinc finger transcription factors that play important roles in plant growth, development, and abiotic stress responses. In this study, we identified 15 PavBBX genes in the genome database of sweet cherry. We systematically analyzed the gene structures, clustering characteristics, and expression patterns of these genes during fruit development and in response to light and various hormones. The PavBBX genes were divided into five subgroups. The promoter regions of the PavBBX genes contain cis-acting elements related to plant development, hormones, and stress. qRT-PCR revealed five upregulated and eight downregulated PavBBX genes during fruit development. In addition, PavBBX6, PavBBX9, and PavBBX11 were upregulated in response to light induction. We also found that ABA, BR, and GA3 contents significantly increased in response to light induction. Furthermore, the expression of several PavBBX genes was highly correlated with the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, light-responsive genes, and genes that function in multiple hormone signaling pathways. Some PavBBX genes were strongly induced by ABA, GA, and BR treatment. Notably, PavBBX6 and PavBBX9 responded to all three hormones. Taken together, BBX proteins likely play major roles in regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweet cherry fruit by integrating light, ABA, GA, and BR signaling pathways.
Highlights
Zinc finger proteins are transcription factors that play crucial roles in plants [1], including functions related to development and stress resistance [2]
PavBBX genes were identified in sweet cherry, which were named PavBBX1-PavBBX15 based on their locations in the reference genome (Figure S1)
PavBBX6 and PavBBX9 responded to three hormone signals and light treatment, indicating that these genes encode proteins that integrate light and hormone signals to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis. These findings demonstrated that these PavBBX proteins might be involved in the crosstalk among multiple hormone signaling pathways and light, functioning as transcriptional regulators to modulate fruit development and ripening
Summary
Zinc finger proteins are transcription factors that play crucial roles in plants [1], including functions related to development and stress resistance [2]. BBX family zinc finger transcription factors have attracted increasing attention due to their multiple, important roles in plants [3,4]. Many studies have demonstrated that BBX proteins are essential for photomorphogenesis, floral induction, carotenoid biosynthesis, the shade avoidance response, and both biotic and abiotic stress resistance [3,7]. 32 BBX proteins have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. These proteins were classified into five groups based on their domain characteristics [5] and are involved in regulating many biological processes, including flowering and photomorphogenesis [8,9,10]
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