Key transcription regulators in the formation of yellow traits in rose petals

Hua Wang; Yuan Yang; Yanhui Kang; Maofu Li; Jie Luo; Xin Liu; Pei Sun; Xiangyi Sun; Min Jin; Wanmei Jin

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110174

Key transcription regulators in the formation of yellow traits in rose petals

Plant Physiol Biochem. 2025 Jun 18:227:110174. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110174. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hua Wang¹, Yuan Yang², Yanhui Kang¹, Maofu Li¹, Jie Luo¹, Xin Liu¹, Pei Sun¹, Xiangyi Sun¹, Min Jin¹, Wanmei Jin³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Forestry and Pomology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100093, PR China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, 100093, PR China; Beijing Engineering Research Center of Functional Floriculture, Beijing, 100093, PR China.
² Institute of Forestry and Pomology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100093, PR China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, 100093, PR China; Beijing Engineering Research Center for Deciduous Fruit Trees, Beijing, 100093, PR China.
³ Institute of Forestry and Pomology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100093, PR China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, 100093, PR China; Beijing Engineering Research Center of Functional Floriculture, Beijing, 100093, PR China. Electronic address: jwm0809@163.com.

PMID: 40570796
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110174

Abstract

Rose is a famous ornamental flower worldwide, and its flower color is an important ornamental trait. The formation of yellow petals is primarily determined by carotenoids, yet its regulatory mechanism is largely unknown. Here, the main carotenoid components in yellow petals were β-carotene and violaxanthin. The enzyme-encoding genes playing a crucial role in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway were RhLYCB, RhZEP, and RhVDE. Transcription factors RhMYB3, RhMYB305, RhMYB30, and RhERF23 were identified as key regulatory genes based on transcriptomics and metabolomics. Transcript levels of these genes were closely associated with petal coloration during flower development and in an F1 population. Overexpression of RhMYB3, RhMYB305, RhMYB30, and RhERF23 significantly promoted carotenoid accumulation, as well as the expression of structural genes, in both rose petals and tobacco leaves. Further validation through molecular interaction (Yeast single hybrid and EMSA) confirmed that these genes bound to the promoter of RhLCYB and RhCRTISO, thereby activating their expressions and contributing to the enhanced carotenoid content. Moreover, RhMYB305 interacting with RhMYB3, RhMYB30, and RhERF23 promotes carotenoid accumulation in tobacco leaves and rose petals. Collectively, we propose that RhMYB3, RhMYB305, RhMYB30, and RhERF23 play a pivotal role in enhancing carotenoid biosynthesis, which will facilitate the modulation of carotenoid accumulation in rose and quality breeding through molecular design.

Keywords: Carotenoid; ERF transcription factor; MYB transcription factor; Rose; Transcriptional regulation; Yellow petal.