Ethylene promotes anthocyanin synthesis in ‘Viviana’ lily via the LvMYB5-LvERF113-LvMYB1 module

Abstract

Ethylene (ET) influences the synthesis of anthocyanins, although its regulatory effects can differ significantly across various plant species. In apples (Malus domestica), ET promotes anthocyanin synthesis, whereas in Arabidopsis thaliana, it inhibits its accumulation. Our research showed that ethephon (Eth), an ET derivative, promotes anthocyanin synthesis in ‘Viviana’ lilies, which has great potential in the cut flower industry. The regulatory mechanism whereby ET influences anthocyanin synthesis in lilies remains unclear. In this study, we screened and characterized an ET-induced ET response factors (ERFs), LvERF113, with inhibitory function. Our analyses suggested that LvERF113 could inhibit the negative regulatory function of LvMYB1 at transcriptional and posttranslational levels, promoting anthocyanin synthesis in ‘Viviana’ lily tepals. In addition, LvERF113 is positively regulated by LvMYB5, forming the LvMYB5-LvERF113-LvMYB1 module controlling anthocyanin synthesis by ET in ‘Viviana’ lily. These findings offer new insights into the ET regulatory network of anthocyanin synthesis and provide a theoretical basis for the application of ET derivatives in the cut flower industry.

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by Funds for the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-23) and National Key R & D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFD1001002).

Author contributions

L.C.and L.Z. conceptualized and designed the research; Y.Z. performed most experiments and analyzed the data with the help from L.C., L.Z., Y.L., and Y.S.; W.D. generated part of the data; Y.Z. and M.I. wrote the manuscript with the help from L.Z. and other authors; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability

RNA-Seq data in this study are openly available in the NCBI (accession number, PRJNA649743). Other relevant data are included in the manuscript and supporting information.

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Supplementary data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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