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The Robert H. Smith Institute of
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in Agriculture
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Two showy traits, scent emission and pigmentation, are finely coregulated by the MYB transcription factor PH4 in petunia flowers.

Citation:

Cna'ani, A. ; Spitzer-Rimon, B. ; Ravid, J. ; Farhi, M. ; Masci, T. ; Aravena-Calvo, J. ; Ovadis, M. ; Vainstein, A. . Two Showy Traits, Scent Emission And Pigmentation, Are Finely Coregulated By The Myb Transcription Factor Ph4 In Petunia Flowers. New Phytol 2015, 208, 708-14.

Date Published:

2015 Nov

Abstract:

The mechanism underlying the emission of phenylpropanoid volatiles is poorly understood. Here, we reveal the involvement of PH4, a petunia MYB-R2R3 transcription factor previously studied for its role in vacuolar acidification, in floral volatile emission. We used the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) approach to knock down PH4 expression in petunia, measured volatile emission and internal pool sizes by GC-MS, and analyzed transcript abundances of scent-related phenylpropanoid genes in flowers. Silencing of PH4 resulted in a marked decrease in floral phenylpropanoid volatile emission, with a concurrent increase in internal pool levels. Expression of scent-related phenylpropanoid genes was not affected. To identify putative scent-related targets of PH4, we silenced PH5, a tonoplast-localized H(+) -ATPase that maintains vacuolar pH homeostasis. Suppression of PH5 did not yield the reduced-emission phenotype, suggesting that PH4 does not operate in the context of floral scent through regulation of vacuolar pH. We conclude that PH4 is a key floral regulator that integrates volatile production and emission processes and interconnects two essential floral traits - color and scent.