A novel synergistic regulatory mechanism involving the MYB39-MYB111-bHLH51-TTG1 module in the phenolic and diterpenoid biosynthetic pathways of Salvia miltiorrhiza

Bingcong Xing; Lin Qiu; Zixuan Wang; Feiyan Wang; Haizheng Yu; Wei Li; Yihong Li; Ann Abozeid; Pengguo Xia; Lei Zhang; Qingsong Shao; Shuncang Zhang; Zongsuo Liang; Dongfeng Yang

doi:10.1111/pbi.70241

A novel synergistic regulatory mechanism involving the MYB39-MYB111-bHLH51-TTG1 module in the phenolic and diterpenoid biosynthetic pathways of Salvia miltiorrhiza

Plant Biotechnol J. 2025 Jul 4. doi: 10.1111/pbi.70241. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Bingcong Xing^{1

2}, Lin Qiu^{1

3}, Zixuan Wang¹, Feiyan Wang¹, Haizheng Yu¹, Wei Li¹, Yihong Li¹, Ann Abozeid^{1

4}, Pengguo Xia¹, Lei Zhang¹, Qingsong Shao², Shuncang Zhang³, Zongsuo Liang^{1

5}, Dongfeng Yang^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
² National Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China.
³ College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
⁴ Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Shebin Elkoom, Egypt.
⁵ Shaoxing Biomedical Research Institute of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University Co., Ltd, Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for the Development Technology of Medicinal and Edible Homologous Health Food, Shaoxing, China.

PMID: 40614103
DOI: 10.1111/pbi.70241

Abstract

Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites, and their biosynthesis is often regulated by multiple transcription factors. However, the potential connections between the biosynthesis of different types of metabolites remain unclear. In this study, we present a novel mechanism in which the MYB39-MYB111-bHLH51-TTG1 module synergistically regulates both the phenolic and diterpenoid biosynthetic pathways in the medicinal model plant Salvia miltiorrhiza. SmMYB39 acts as a repressor, while the MYB111-bHLH51-TTG1 (SmMBW) complex functions as an activator of these pathways. SmMYB39 interferes with the formation of the SmMBW complex by interacting with all its components. Additionally, SmMYB39 inhibits the transcriptional activity of SmbHLH51 on its target genes. Expression of SmMYB39 is suppressed by exogenous MeJA, whereas the expressions of SmbHLH51, SmMYB111 and SmTTG1 are induced. Furthermore, SmMYB39 interacts with SmJAZ1, a core repressor in the jasmonic acid (JA) signalling pathway. These findings suggest that the SmMYB39-SmMBW module mediates JA signalling and synergistically regulates the biosynthesis of phenolics and diterpenoids in S. miltiorrhiza. Our findings offer important insights into the coordinated regulatory mechanisms of transcription activators and repressors that control distinct metabolic pathways in plants.

Keywords: MBW complex; Salvia miltiorrhiza; diterpenoid; phenolic acid; synergistic regulation.

Abstract

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