The AtMYB2 inhibits the formation of axillary meristem in Arabidopsis by repressing RAX1 gene under environmental stresses

• Published in: Plant cell reports Vol. 39; no. 12; pp. 1755 - 1765
• Main Authors: Jia, Tianqi, Zhang, Kaidian, Li, Fan, Huang, Yifeng, Fan, Manman, Huang, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - physiology; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; Developmental stages; Droughts; Environmental stress; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Life Sciences; Meristem - growth & development; Meristems; MYB gene; Original Article; Photoperiod; Plant Biochemistry; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plant Sciences; Plants (botany); Plants, Genetically Modified; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Proteins; Stress, Physiological - genetics; Stresses; Trans-Activators - genetics; Trans-Activators - metabolism; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Axillary meristem; AtMYB2; Environmental stress; RAX1
• ISSN: 0721-7714; 1432-203X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00299-020-02602-3

Key message
AtMYB2 protein represses the formation of axillary meristems in response to environmental stresses so that plants can undergo a shorter vegetative development stage under environmental stresses.
Shoot branching is an important event determined by endogenous factors during the development of plants. The formation of axillary meristem is also significantly repressed by environmental stresses and the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. The
REGULATOR OF AXILLARY MERISTEMS
(
RAX
) genes encode the R2R3 MYB transcription factors that have been shown to regulate the formation of axillary meristems in Arabidopsis. The
AtMYB2
is also a member of
R2R3 MYB
gene family whose expression is usually induced by the environmental stresses. In this study, our results showed that AtMYB2 protein plays a pivotal negative regulatory role in the formation of axillary meristem.
AtMYB2
is mainly expressed in the leaf axils as that of
RAX1
. The environmental stresses can increase the expression of AtMYB2 protein which further inhibits the expression of
RAX1
gene by binding to its promoter. Therefore, AtMYB2 protein represses the formation of axillary meristems in response to environmental stresses so that plants can undergo a shorter vegetative development stage under environmental stresses.