Alternative splicing of MaMYB16L regulates starch degradation in banana fruit during ripening

J Integr Plant Biol. 2021 Jul;63(7):1341-1352. doi: 10.1111/jipb.13088. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Abstract

The alternative splicing of select genes is an important mechanism to regulate responses to endogenous and environmental signals in plants. However, the role of alternative splicing in regulating fruit ripening remains unclear. Here, we discovered that MaMYB16L, an R1-type MYB transcription factor, undergoes alternative splicing and generates two transcripts, the full-length isoform MaMYB16L and a truncated form MaMYB16S, in banana fruit. During banana fruit ripening, the alternative splicing process intensifies with downregulated MaMYB16L and upregulated MaMYB16S. Moreover, MaMYB16L is a transcriptional repressor that directly binds with the promoters of many genes associated with starch degradation and MaDREB2, a positive ripening regulator, and represses their expression. In contrast, MaMBY16S lacks a DNA-binding domain but competitively combines and forms non-functional heterodimers with functional MaMYB16L. MaMYB16L-MaMYB16S heterodimers decrease the binding capacity and transrepression activity of MaMYB16L. The downregulation of MaMYB16L and the upregulation of MaMYB16S, that is, a decreased ratio of active to non-active isoforms, facilitates the activation of ripening-related genes and thereby promotes fruit ripening. Furthermore, the transient overexpression of MaMYB16S promotes banana fruit ripening, whereas the overexpression of MaMYB16L delays this process. Therefore, the alternative splicing of MaMYB16L might generate a self-controlled regulatory loop to regulate banana fruit ripening.

Keywords: Musa acuminata; R1-MYB; alternative splicing; fruit ripening; transcriptional regulation.

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing / genetics
  • Alternative Splicing / physiology
  • Fruit / genetics
  • Fruit / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Musa / genetics
  • Musa / metabolism*
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Transcriptional Activation / genetics
  • Transcriptional Activation / physiology

Substances

  • Plant Proteins
  • Transcription Factors