Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14(1), 594-610; doi:10.3390/ijms14010594
Article

Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Thirteen R2R3-MYB Transcription Factors from Epimedium sagittatum

Wenjun Huang 1,† email, Wei Sun 2,† email, Haiyan Lv 1 email, Gong Xiao 1 email, Shaohua Zeng 2 email and Ying Wang 1,* email
1 Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, China 2 Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, Guangdong, China † These authors contributed equally to this work.
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 November 2012; in revised form: 11 December 2012 / Accepted: 11 December 2012 / Published: 27 December 2012
(This article belongs to the Section Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [1343 KB, Updated Version, uploaded 24 January 2013 08:34 CET]
The original version is still available [1338 KB, uploaded 27 December 2012 12:24 CET]
Abstract: Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. et Zucc.) Maxim, a popular traditional Chinese medicinal plant, has been widely used for treating sexual dysfunction and osteoporosis in China. The main bioactive components in herba epimedii are prenylated flavonol glycosides, which are end products of a branch of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. The MYB transcription factors (TF) act as activators or repressors to regulate the flavonoid pathway. In this study, 13 full-length cDNA clones of R2R3-MYB TFs from E. sagittatum (designated as EsMYB1 to EsMYB13) were isolated and characterized. Sequence similarity and phylogenetic analysis placed nine R2R3-MYB members of epimedii into five subgroups of the Arabidopsis R2R3-MYB family, while four members were not clustered into a defined subgroup. The number and length of introns from epimedii R2R3-MYB genes varied significantly, but intron positions and phases were well conserved. Expression patterns of epimedii R2R3-MYB genes in various tissues showed diverse. Finally, it is suggested that five epimedii R2R3-MYB genes may be involved in regulating the flavonoid pathway and could be used as valuable candidate genes for metabolic engineering studies in future. Sequence information of 13 R2R3-MYB genes discovered here will also provide an entry point into the overview of whole R2R3-MYB family in epimedii.
Keywords: Epimedium; medicinal plant; flavonoid pathway; MYB; transcription factor

Supplementary Files

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Huang, W.; Sun, W.; Lv, H.; Xiao, G.; Zeng, S.; Wang, Y. Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Thirteen R2R3-MYB Transcription Factors from Epimedium sagittatum. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 594-610.

AMA Style

Huang W, Sun W, Lv H, Xiao G, Zeng S, Wang Y. Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Thirteen R2R3-MYB Transcription Factors from Epimedium sagittatum. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2013; 14(1):594-610.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Huang, Wenjun; Sun, Wei; Lv, Haiyan; Xiao, Gong; Zeng, Shaohua; Wang, Ying. 2013. "Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Thirteen R2R3-MYB Transcription Factors from Epimedium sagittatum." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 14, no. 1: 594-610.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. EISSN 1422-0067 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert