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OPEN
Received: 8 November 2018
Accepted: 20 August 2019
Published: xx xx xxxx
Mining MYB transcription factors
from the genomes of orchids
(Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium) and
characterization of an orchid R2R3MYB gene involved in water-soluble
polysaccharide biosynthesis
Chunmei He1, Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva2, Haobin Wang1,3, Can Si1,3, Mingze Zhang1,3,
Xiaoming Zhang1, Mingzhi Li4, Jianwen Tan5 & Jun Duan1
Members of the MYB superfamily act as regulators in a wide range of biological processes in plants.
Despite this, the MYB superfamily from the Orchidaceae has not been identified, and MYB genes
related to bioactive water-soluble polysaccharide (WSP) biosynthesis are relatively unknown. In this
study, we identified 159 and 165 MYB genes from two orchids, Phalaenopsis equestris and Dendrobium
officinale, respectively. The MYB proteins were classified into four MYB classes in both orchids: MYBrelated (MYBR), R2R3-MYB, 3R-MYB and atypical MYB proteins. The MYBR proteins in both orchids
were classified into five subfamilies and 12 genes were strongly up-regulated in response to cold stress
in D. officinale. The R2R3-MYB proteins were both divided into 31 clades in P. equestris and D. officinale.
Among these clades, nine contained MYB TFs related to secondary cell wall biosynthesis or testa
mucilage biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. In D. officinale, 10 candidate genes showed an expression
pattern corresponding to changes in the WSP content. Overexpression of one of these candidate genes
(DoMYB75) in A. thaliana increased seed WSP content by about 14%. This study provides information
about MYB genes in two orchids that will further help to understand the transcriptional regulation of
WSP biosynthesis in these orchids as well as other plant species.
Gene expression is regulated by various complex mechanisms, including modifications to DNA such as histone
modification and DNA methylation, as well as various RNA-mediated processes. Transcription factors (TFs) regulate gene expression, and this is a well-known mechanism by which a TF binds to a specific nucleotide sequence
upstream of target gene, ultimately controlling a range of biological processes1. MYB TFs exist widely in eukaryotes and are one of the largest and most diverse families of TFs in the plant kingdom, where they play an essential
role in a wide range of physiological and biochemical processes2,3.
The first MYB gene (v-myb), which was isolated from avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV), encodes a MYB
domain protein4. Ever since the first plant MYB gene (the Zea mays COLORED1 (C1) gene) was cloned5, numerous MYB genes have been identified from plants as an increasing number of plant genomic sequences became
available. For example, 198, 256, 127, 231 and 122 MYB genes have been identified in Arabidopsis thaliana6,
Brassica rapa3, Solanum lycopersicum7, Pyrus bretschneideri8 and Brachypodium distachyon9, respectively. MYB
proteins share a highly conserved DNA-binding domain (the MYB domain), which ranges from one to four
1
Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Gene Improvement, South China Botanical
Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China. 2P. O. Box 7, Miki-cho post office, Ikenobe 3011-2,
Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa-ken, 761-0799, Japan. 3University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049,
China. 4Biodata Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Heifei, 230031, China. 5College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture,
South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China. Correspondence and requests for materials should
be addressed to J.D. (email: duanj@scib.ac.cn)
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imperfect amino acid sequence repeats (R)10. Based on the number of adjacent repeats, the MYB genes in plants
have been divided into four distinct groups: MYB-related (MYBR, only contains one R1- or R2-like repeat),
R2R3-MYB (containing two R2/3R-like repeats), 3R-MYB (containing three R1/R2/R3-like repeats) and atypical MYB proteins (4R-MYB, four R1/R2-like repeats; CDC5-like)6,10. The atypical MYB group of proteins is the
smallest class, and contains one or two genes in several higher plant genomes. For example, one and two atypical
MYB genes were found in O. sativa and A. thaliana, respectively11. The 3R-MYB group is the second smallest
class, and contains about five members in plants such as A. thaliana, Populus trichocarpa and Vitis vinifera3. The
MYBR proteins contain only a single repeat and fall into five subclasses, CCA1/R-R-like, CPC-like, I-box-like,
TBP-like and TRF-like, that contain 30 to 70 genes in plant genomes2. The R2R3-MYB group is the largest group
in plants with more than 100 members that were extensively amplified approximately 500 million years ago after
the appearance of land plants12. For example, 113, 126 and 244 genes encode R2R3-MYB proteins in O. sativa11, A.
thaliana6 and Glycine max13, respectively. The A. thaliana R2R3-MYB proteins have been divided into 33 clades,
while those in P. bretschneideri have been divided into 37 clades8, which suggests evolutionary diversity of the
R2R3-MYB family.
All four groups of MYB proteins were found after genome-wide analyses of MYB TFs in plants and while the
function of a number of MYB genes have been characterized in many plants, the function of 4R-MYB proteins
remains unclear. The 3R-MYBs play a role in cell cycle control14. MYBR proteins are involved in cellular morphogenesis, secondary metabolism, organ morphogenesis, phosphate starvation, chloroplast development and
circadian regulation15. More recently, two A. thaliana MYBR genes (MYBS1 and MYBS2) have been shown to
have opposite roles in sugar signaling mechanisms16. Over the past two decades, the R2R3-MYB TFs have been
extensively exploited and many R2R3-MYB proteins have been shown to play roles in several biological processes,
such as development, response to biotic and abiotic stresses, and metabolism15,17. Among the metabolic processes,
R2R3-MYB genes are acutely involved in phenylpropanoid metabolism18. Very recently, two R2R3-MYB genes
from Marchantia polymorpha, MpMYB14 and MpMYB02, were found to act as essential regulators in the biosynthesis of riccionidins and marchantins, respectively19.
Secondary cell walls (SCWs), which have a critically important function by supporting plants and are a major
source of plant biomass, are composed of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose20. An increasing body of studies has
demonstrated that R2R3-MYB proteins are critical for SCW biosynthesis21. In A. thaliana, AtMYB46 binds to
the promoter of AtCSLA9, which is involved in glucomannan biosynthesis, and regulates its expression22. Testa
mucilage, which is composed of polysaccharides, is regarded as a useful model for exploring the biosynthesis of
cell wall polysaccharides23,24. Previous studies have demonstrated that R2R3-MYB genes, such as AtMYB5 and
AtMYB61, are required for the production of seed mucilage, and the polysaccharide content of seed mucilage in
the A. thaliana myb61 mutant was significantly reduced25,26. These results indicate that R2R3-MYB members play
roles in the biosynthesis of plant polysaccharides.
Water-soluble polysaccharides (WSPs) play an important role in plants’ stress response. For example, tolerant
genotypes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings accumulated more water-soluble carbohydrates, including
glucose, fructose, sucrose, and fructan than sensitive genotypes under drought and salt stress27. Recent studies showed that WSPs isolated from plants may increase immunity28 and have an antitumor function29,30. The
Orchidaceae is one of the largest plant families in the world and has about 25,000 species31. The Dendrobium
genus, which belongs to the Orchidaceae, has several important species that are used as herbal medicines32. WSPs
isolated from Dendrobium species such as D. huoshanense and D. officinale are regarded as major active ingredients and display immunomodulating activities33. Several genes involved in the biosynthesis of WSPs have been
identified and characterized in D. officinale, whose stems contain an abundance of bioactive WSPs34–36. However,
the TFs that regulate the biosynthesis of these WSPs are still unknown. In this study, MYB proteins were identified
from two orchids, Phalaenopsis equestris and D. officinale, in a genome-wide process, and the putative R2R3-MYB
genes related to SCW or mucilage biosynthesis were identified based on phylogenetic analysis. One R2R3-MYB
gene involved in the biosynthesis of WSPs was characterized. This work provides novel information that would
allow for a better understanding of the functional diversity of MYB genes in plants and would aid in revealing the
molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of bioactive WSPs in D. officinale or in other plants.
Methods
D. officinale plants were grown as described previously34. The stems
of five developmental stages were harvested to determine WSPs and for gene expression analysis. S1 is about
4 months after sprouting in April, while S2, S3, S4, and S5 are about 9, 10, 12, and 13 months after sprouting,
respectively. Roots, leaves and stems that were collected from plants grown in a growth chamber when they
were 10 cm in height, were used to analyze the expression pattern of different organs. D. officinale seed capsules
were surface sterilized in 0.1% mercuric chloride (HgCl2), sown on half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium
(half the macronutrients; ½MS)37 supplemented with 1 g/L activated charcoal, 20 g/L sucrose and 6 g/L agar and
0.5 mg/L 1-naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA), and cultivated at 26 ± 1 °C, 40 µmol m−2 s−1, and a 12-h photoperiod.
Seedlings (1 cm in height and about 3 months after sowing) were transferred to liquid ½MS medium supplemented with 20 g/L sucrose and 0.5 mg/L NAA for three days. After adapting, 30 seedlings were used to perform
abiotic stress bioassays in liquid medium containing 150 g/L polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 (Sigma-Aldrich,
Shanghai, China), 300 mM mannitol (Sigma-Aldrich), or 250 mM NaCl (Guangzhou Chemical Reagent Factory,
Guangzhou, China). Seedlings were transferred to fresh ½MS medium supplemented with 20 g/L sucrose and
0.5 mg/L NAA as the control. There were three replicates with 36 seedlings in each treatment. After 6 h, seedlings
were harvested, frozen in liquid nitrogen and RNA was isolated immediately.
A. thaliana plants (Col-0) were grown in soil under a 16-h photoperiod at 22 °C. For screening resistant lines,
A. thaliana seeds were surface sterilized and sown on ½MS medium supplemented with 15 g/L sucrose and 8 g/L
agar, stratified in the dark at 4 °C for 2 d, and then cultivated under a 16-h photoperiod at 22 °C.
Plant materials and treatments.
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2R-MYB
3R-MYB
Atypical
MYB genes
Total
A. thaliana* 64
126
5
2
197
P. equestris
40
115
3
1
159
D. officinale
42
117
4
2
165
Species
MYBR
Table 1. Number of members in the four groups of MYB transcription factors in A. thaliana, P. equestris and D.
officinale. *The MYB genes from A. thaliana provided by Dubos et al.10 and Stracke et al.74.
Identification of MYB transcription factors in orchids. The protein sequences of P. equestris and
D. officinale were downloaded in a FASTA format from orchidbase (http://orchidbase.itps.ncku.edu.tw/EST/
releaseSummary2012.aspx) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) provided by Zhang
et al.38. HMMER 3.0 software (http://hmmer.janelia.org/) was used to identify the putative MYB TFs under
default parameters. The putative MYB TFs were annotated by Pfam (Protein family)39, Swissprot40 and nr (NCBI
non-redundant protein sequences)41. The putative MYB TFs, which were confirmed to be MYB TFs by annotation, were regarded as MYB TFs. The classification of MYBR, R2R3-MYB, 3R-MYB and atypical MYB proteins
were based on the annotation and BLAST against the A. thaliana MYB TFs.
Phylogenetic analysis. MYB proteins from A. thaliana (At), P. equestris (Pe) and D. officinale (Do) were
aligned using MAFFT software version 742. A phylogenetic tree of R2R3-MYBs was constructed using the
Neighbor–Joining (NJ) method and 1,000 bootstraps with Clustalx43. The phylogenetic trees of MYBR and C2
(S6) R2R3-MYBs were constructed using MEGA 744 with the NJ method using 1,000 bootstraps.
Calculation of Ks and Ka of MYB family genes in the two orchids. Orthologous gene pairs of MYB
genes between P. equestris and D. officinale were identified by Orthofinder v2.2.6 with the BLAST method under
default parameters45. The orthologous gene pairs were used to calculate synonymous (Ks) and nonsynonymous
(Ka) values using the KaKs_Calculator2.046.
Prediction of cis-responsive elements on the promoters of orchid MYB genes.
The 2000 bp
genomic DNA sequences upstream of the initiation codon (ATG) of orchid MYB genes were obtained and used
for predicting cis-acting regulatory DNA elements (cis-responsive elements). The PlantCARE database47 and
PLACE database48 were adopted to identify the putative cis-responsive elements.
Expression profiling of MYB genes from D. officinale under cold stress. For the expression profiles
of D. officinale under cold stress (4 °C), the transcriptome sequencing data of the control condition (SRR3210630,
SRR3210635 and SRR3210636) and cold stress treatment (SRR3210613, SRR3210621 and SRR3210626) were
obtained from the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database49. The clean reads were obtained by filtering
out low quality reads and were mapped to the nucleotide sequences of MYB genes using TopHat version 2.0.850.
The expression level of MYB genes was calculated by the fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments
mapped (FPKM) method using HTSeq51. The heatmap of expression profiling was draw by a green-red gradient
in R version 3.4.1 (https://www.r-project.org/). The genes with a FPKM value >5 in the control or cold stress
treatment were regarded as sense, then were used to calculate fold change (mean of FPKM cold/mean of FPKM
control). Genes with a ≥1.5-fold change were defined as up-regulated genes, and those with a ≤0.66-fold change
were regarded as down-regulated genes.
Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. Total RNA from D. officinale organs (roots, stems and
leaves) and seedlings, as well as A. thaliana seedlings, was extracted using an RNA extraction kit (Column Plant
RNAout2.0, Tiandz, Inc., Beijing, China). RNA was purified by excluding genomic DNA using the DNase I
digestion kit (Takara Bio Inc., Dalian, China). The integrity and content of purified RNA was determined by 1%
agarose gel electrophoresis and a NanoDrop 2000c Spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific, Wilmington, NC,
USA), respectively. Total RNA was reversed transcribed into cDNA by M-MLV reverse transcriptase (Promega,
Madison, WI, USA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The cDNA of each sample was diluted to 200 ng/
mL and 1 µL was used as template for the qRT-PCR reaction. Three PCR reactions were performed using the
SoAdvanced Universal SYBR Green Supermix detection system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) in an ABI
7500 Real-time system (ABI, Foster City, CA, USA) with the following amplification regime: 95 °C for 2 min, and
40 cycles of 95 °C for 15 s and 60 °C for 30 s. Actin from D. officinale (NCBI accession number: JX294908) was
used to normalize the expression of genes. The 2−∆∆CT method52 was used to calculate the relative gene expression
level. All the primers of DoMYB genes and actins for qRT-PCR were designed by an online web tool (http://www.
idtdna.com/Primerquest/Home/Index) and are listed in Supplementary Table 1.
™
®
Generation of DoMYB75 transgenic lines. The coding sequence (CDS) of DoMYB75 without a termination codon was amplified using the KOD FX High Success-rate DNA polymerase Kit (Toyobo Biotechnology
Co. Ltd., Shanghai, China) and cloned into the pCAMBIA 1302 vector (Cambia, Canberra, Australia) at the NcoІ
site. The construct was verified by DNA sequencing at the Beijing Genomics Institute (Shenzhen, China). A.
thaliana was transformed by the floral dip method53 using about 15 independent plants. Twenty five resistant lines
were identified by screening in ½MS medium supplemented with 25 mg/L hygromycin B (Roche Diagnostics,
Mannheim, Germany). Three resistant lines were randomly selected to extract genomic DNA and verified as
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Figure 1. Phylogenetic trees of MYBR proteins. (A) Unrooted phylogenetic tree of P. equestris and A. thaliana
MYBR proteins. (B) Unrooted phylogenetic tree of D. officinale and A. thaliana MYB proteins. The trees were
generated by MEGA 744 using the Neighbor-Joining method and aligned by MAFFT42.
™
transgenic lines using PCR. The 2 × BlueStar PCR Master Mix kit (Tingke Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Beijing,
China) was used to perform PCR with 95 °C for 2 min and 35 cycles of 98 °C for 10 s, 58 °C for 30 s, and 72 °C for
30 s, followed by a final extension at 72 °C for 10 min. The primers used to construct the overexpression vector are
listed in Supplementary Table 1.
Analysis of DoMYB75 transcript level in wild type and DoMYB75 transgenic A. thaliana
plants. Total RNA from one-week-old A. thaliana seedlings were extracted, purified and reverse transcribed
™
as indicated above. The 2 × BlueStar PCR Master Mix kit was used for semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis. One
microliter of cDNA sample (about 400 ng/µL) was used for each independent PCR reaction using the following
thermocycling conditions: 95 °C for 2 min, followed by 40 cycles of 98 °C for 10 s, 55 °C for 30 s, and a final extension at 72 °C for 60 s. The DoMYB75 primer pair was the same as that used for vector construction. The primers
UBQ10F/R for the A. thaliana ubiquitin gene (AtUBQ10) are listed in Supplementary Table 1.
Analysis of water-soluble polysaccharide content.
The WSPs in D. officinale stems were extracted
and determined as previously described34. Whole mature and dry A. thaliana seeds were ground to a fine powder using a tissue lyser (TL2020, Beijing Haoyuan Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing, China). Twenty mg of powder
was weighed precisely, pre-extracted twice with 1 mL 80% (v/v) hot ethanol for 20 min in each extraction step,
and centrifuged by a Centrifuge 5424 R (Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany) at 10,000 rpm for 10 min at 16 °C. The
supernatant was discarded. The pellet was suspended with 2 mL of distilled water, then incubated in an ultrasonic bath (VCX600, Sonics and Materials Inc., Newtown, CT, USA) for 2 h at 60 °C to extract the WSPs. After
centrifugation at 10,000 rpm for 10 min at 16 °C, the supernatant was collected and used to analyze WSPs by the
phenol-sulfuric acid method54, as described in He et al.34.
Statistical analyses. Data were analyzed using SigmaPlot12.3 software (Systat Software Inc., San Jose, CA,
USA) by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) or Dunnett’s
test. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results
Identification of MYB superfamily genes in orchids.
In this study, a total of 159 and 165 MYB TFs
were identified in two orchids, P. equestris and D. officinale, respectively. In P. equestris, 40 MYBR genes, 115
R2R3-MYB genes, three 3R-MYB genes and one atypical MYB gene (CDC5-type) were found (Table 1). A similar
number of MYB TF family members was found in D. officinale: 42 MYBR genes, 117 R2R3-MYB genes, four
3R-MYB genes and two atypical MYB genes (one 4RMYB and one CDC5-type) were identified in the D. officinale
genome (Table 1). All the details of MYB genes in both orchids are listed in Supplementary Table 2.
Classification of MYBR and R2R3-MYB proteins in two orchids. In plants, MYBR proteins can be
divided into five subgroups: CCA1/RR-like, CPC-like, I-box-like, TBP-like and TRF-like2. Genes in these five
subgroups were also found in P. equestris and D. officinale, 21 and 24 CCA1/RR-like, 4 and 3 CPC-like, 5 and
6 I-box-like, 8 and 7 TBP-like, and 2 and 2 TRF-like, respectively. The CCA1/RR-like subfamily is the largest of
the five subfamilies, while the TRF-like family is the smallest, with just two members in each orchid (Fig. 1A,B).
Compared with the MYB-related family, the R2R3-MYB family contained nearly three times as many genes
as MYBR proteins in both orchids. The R2R3-MYB proteins are classified into 25 clades based on conservation
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Clade
D. officinale
P. equestris
A. thaliana
Functions in A. thaliana
References
C1 (AtMYB5)
DoMYB01
PeMYB42
AtMYB5
Testa mucilage synthesis
25
DoMYB06
PeMYB91
DoMYB42
PeMYB93
PeMYB95
C2 (S6)
DoMYB117
PeMYB104
AtMYB113
Anthocyanin biosynthesis
73
DoMYB74
PeMYB30
AtMYB114
Anthocyanin biosynthesis
73
AtMYB75
Cell wall thickening, testa,
anthocyanin biosynthesis
70–72
Trichome morphogenesis
75
DoMYB75
PeMYB37
DoMYB86
PeMYB54
AtMYB90
AtMYB0
C3 (S15)
AtMYB23
AtMYB66
C4 (S5)
AtMYB123
DoMYB22
PeMYB40
AtMYB108
Stamen maturation
76
DoMYB96
PeMYB75
AtMYB112
Flavonoid biosynthesis
77
PeMYB86
AtMYB116
AtMYB2
Phosphate-starvation responses
78
AtMYB62
Phosphate-starvation responses
79
Stamen maturation
76
Root growth; cell cycle progression
80
C5 (S20)
PeMYB87
AtMYB78
C6 (S19)
C7 (S17)
DoMYB44
PeMYB18
AtMYB21
DoMYB62
PeMYB70
AtMYB24
DoMYB108
PeMYB02
AtMYB121
DoMYB34
PeMYB27
AtMYB27
DoMYB53
PeMYB34
AtMYB48
DoMYB66
PeMYB41
AtMYB59
DoMYB77
PeMYB44
AtMYB71
DoMYB91
PeMYB49
PeMYB94
C8 (S21)
C9 (AtMYB124/AtMYB88)
DoMYB02
PeMYB01
AtMYB105
DoMYB111
PeMYB04
AtMYB110
DoMYB16
PeMYB26
AtMYB117
DoMYB26
PeMYB32
AtMYB52
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
81
DoMYB27
PeMYB36
AtMYB54
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
81
DoMYB31
PeMYB45
AtMYB56
DoMYB36
PeMYB48
AtMYB69
DoMYB45
PeMYB64
DoMYB52
PeMYB65
DoMYB64
PeMYB67
DoMYB88
PeMYB80
DoMYB97
PeMYB82
Root development
82
Salt stress response
83
DoMYB98
PeMYB84
DoMYB106
PeMYB29
AtMYB124
AtMYB88
C10 (AtMYB91)
DoMYB18
PeMYB57
AtMYB91
PeMYB105
PeMYB106
C11
PeMYB112
PeMYB115
PeMYB89
C12 (S22)
DoMYB03
PeMYB31
AtMYB44
DoMYB24
PeMYB38
AtMYB77
DoMYB30
PeMYB73
DoMYB84
AtMYB70
AtMYB73
DoMYB94
AtMYB1
C13 (S23)
AtMYB109
AtMYB35
Continued
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Clade
D. officinale
P. equestris
A. thaliana
C14 (AtMYB125)
DoMYB114
PeMYB09
AtMYB125
DoMYB70
PeMYB88
AtMYB36
DoMYB109
PeMYB110
AtMYB100
DoMYB13
PeMYB28
DoMYB15
PeMYB90
C15 (S25)
C16 (S18)
Functions in A. thaliana
References
Root development
84
AtMYB115
Benzoyloxy glucosinolate pathway
85
AtMYB118
Benzoyloxy glucosinolate pathway
86
DoMYB83
AtMYB119
Gametogenesis
86
DoMYB87
AtMYB22
AtMYB64
Gametogenesis
86
DoMYB107
PeMYB107
AtMYB101
Fertilization
87
DoMYB12
PeMYB114
AtMYB104
DoMYB25
PeMYB23
AtMYB120
Fertilization
87
DoMYB50
PeMYB59
AtMYB33
Fertilization
87
Cell wall organization
88
Cuticular wax biosynthesis
89
DoMYB55
AtMYB65
DoMYB72
AtMYB81
AtMYB97
C17
DoMYB73
PeMYB50
PeMYB83
C18 (S14)
DoMYB04
PeMYB05
AtMYB36
DoMYB11
PeMYB08
AtMYB37
DoMYB35
PeMYB102
AtMYB38
DoMYB38
PeMYB103
AtMYB68
DoMYB49
PeMYB12
AtMYB84
DoMYB56
PeMYB13
AtMYB87
DoMYB68
PeMYB46
DoMYB79
PeMYB51
DoMYB89
PeMYB53
DoMYB95
PeMYB66
PeMYB74
PeMYB76
C19 (AtMYB80/AtMYB35)
DoMYB102
PeMYB24
AtMYB80
DoMYB113
PeMYB69
AtMYB35
DoMYB05
PeMYB33
AtMYB30
DoMYB37
PeMYB78
AtMYB31
DoMYB57
PeMYB97
AtMYB60
PeMYB98
AtMYB94
AtMYB96
Cuticular wax biosynthesis
89
DoMYB23
PeMYB15
AtMYB107
Suberin deposition
90
DoMYB47
PeMYB22
AtMYB39
Suberin deposition
90
Root development
91
DoMYB19
C20 (S1)
C21 (S10)
DoMYB82
DoMYB104
C22 (S24)
C23 (S11)
AtMYB9
PeMYB79
AtMYB53
DoMYB61
AtMYB92
DoMYB76
AtMYB93
DoMYB39
PeMYB21
AtMYB102
DoMYB40
PeMYB99
AtMYB41
Osmotic stress responses
92
AtMYB74
Salt stress responses
93
Cuticle formation
94
DoMYB41
DoMYB51
DoMYB58
C24 (S9)
C25 (S12)
DoMYB32
PeMYB25
AtMYB106
DoMYB60
PeMYB52
AtMYB16
DoMYB69
PeMYB56
AtMYB17
DoMYB100
PeMYB06
DoMYB43
AtMYB122
AtMYB51
AtMYB34
AtMYB29
AtMYB76
DoMYB10
PeMYB03
AtMYB13
Continued
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Clade
C26 (S2)
D. officinale
P. equestris
A. thaliana
Functions in A. thaliana
References
DoMYB28
PeMYB109
AtMYB14
Testa polymer biosynthesis
25
DoMYB54
PeMYB47
AtMYB15
DoMYB46
PeMYB14
AtMYB58
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
95
DoMYB92
PeMYB19
AtMYB63
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
95
DoMYB71
DoMYB78
DoMYB99
C27 (S3)
PeMYB85
G28 (S7)
C29 (AtMYB47/AtMYB95)
DoMYB116
PeMYB113
AtMYB11
Flavonoid biosynthesis
96
DoMYB59
PeMYB43
AtMYB111
Flavonoid biosynthesis
96
PeMYB68
AtMYB12
Flavonoid biosynthesis
96
DoMYB20
PeMYB63
AtMYB47
AtMYB95
C30 (S8)
DoMYB07
PeMYB17
AtMYB20
DoMYB103
PeMYB20
AtMYB40
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
81
DoMYB67
PeMYB62
AtMYB42
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
81
PeMYB96
AtMYB43
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
81
AtMYB85
Secondary cell wall biosynthesis
81
Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis
97
Testa mucilage synthesis
26,98
Secondary cell wall thickening
99
100
AtMYB99
C31 (S4)
DoMYB21
PeMYB07
AtMYB3
DoMYB33
PeMYB35
AtMYB32
DoMYB48
PeMYB39
AtMYB4
DoMYB80
PeMYB58
AtMYB7
DoMYB85
PeMYB60
DoMYB93
DoMYB08
AtMYB18
C32 (S16)
AtMYB19
AtMYB45
C33 (S13)
DoMYB09
PeMYB100
AtMYB50
DoMYB110
PeMYB101
AtMYB55
DoMYB112
PeMYB108
AtMYB61
DoMYB115
PeMYB11
AtMYB86
DoMYB14
PeMYB111
DoMYB29
PeMYB55
DoMYB65
PeMYB71
DoMYB81
PeMYB77
PeMYB81
C34 (AtMYB26/AtMYB67/AtMYB103)
DoMYB105
PeMYB16
AtMYB26
DoMYB63
PeMYB61
AtMYB67
DoMYB90
PeMYB72
AtMYB103
Lignin biosynthesis; secondary cell
wall thickening
DoMYB17
PeMYB10
AtMYB46
Secondary wall biosynthesis
69,101
Secondary wall biosynthesis
69
PeMYB92
C35 (AtMYB46/AtMYB83)
AtMYB83
Table 2. Classification and putative functions of R2R3-MYB transcription factors.
of the MYB domain and C terminal amino acid motifs in A. thaliana10. To survey the classification within the
R2R3-MYB gene family, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis of A. thaliana (126 members), P. equestris (115
members) and D. officinale (117 members) R2R3-MYB proteins. Based on a phylogenetic tree, all the MYB proteins could be grouped into 35 clades (C1-C35) (Table 2 and Supplementary Fig. 1). The C3 (S15), C4 (S5) and
C13 (S23) clade genes were absent in both orchids, while C11 subfamily genes were only found in P. equestris
and C17 clade genes were only present in the two orchids (Table 2 and Supplementary Fig. 1). This result suggests
that the C3 (S15), C4 (S5) and C13 (S23) proteins might have been lost in orchids after divergence from the most
recent common ancestor.
Non-synonymous (Ka) and synonymous (Ks) substitutions in orthologous gene pairs between
P. equestris and D. officinale. The Ka/Ks value is regarded as a pointer to assess selective pressure on a
protein-coding gene. A Ka/Ks ratio less than 1 indicates a negative or purifying selection, a Ka/Ks ratio equal to
1 indicates neutral evolution, while a Ka/Ks ratio greater than 1 indicates positive or adaptive evolution. In total,
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Paralogous gene pairs
D. officinale
P. equestris
Ka
Ks
Ka/Ks
P-Value
(Fisher)
DoMYBR22
PeMYBR29
0.252639
0.226031
1.11772
0.359576
DoMYBR01
PeMYBR11
0.229767
0.264664
0.868147
4.37E-01
DoMYB30
PeMYBCDC
0.540245
0.678633
0.796079
3.34E-01
DoMYB113
PeMYB24
0.281005
0.395265
0.710927
9.42E-02
DoMYBR35
PeMYBR22
0.174475
0.302301
0.577156
1.47E-01
DoMYBR02
PeMYBR06
0.187853
0.333361
0.563513
1.95E-05
DoMYBR28
PeMYBR37
0.288114
0.517813
0.556406
0.002783
DoMYBR30
PeMYBR33
0.587592
1.18628
0.495324
2.48E-05
DoMYBR33
PeMYBR08
0.14577
0.324747
0.448873
4.66E-08
DoMYB50
PeMYB108
0.1481
0.330785
0.447722
8.97E-07
DoMYB94
PeMYB73
0.181577
0.411152
0.441631
0.001206
DoMYB35
PeMYB102
0.129134
0.294916
0.437867
0.000129
DoMYB27
PeMYB80
0.135674
0.311095
0.436116
3.87E-05
DoMYB727
PeMYB23
0.268111
0.652068
0.41117
5.06E-09
DoMYB22
PeMYB40
0.195574
0.487158
0.401458
1.66E-05
DoMYBR25
PeMYBR32
0.174571
0.461248
0.378476
4.33E-08
DoMYB20
PeMYB63
0.216538
0.5768
0.375412
9.05E-06
DoMYB106
PeMYB29
0.124663
0.350774
0.355394
3.95E-09
DoMYBR13
PeMYBR36
0.160839
0.461041
0.34886
8.74E-08
DoMYB65
PeMYB11
0.127844
0.376824
0.339266
1.8E-10
DoMYBR14
PeMYBR30
0.148252
0.460324
0.322059
1.47E-18
DoMYB02
PeMYB26
0.139964
0.434743
0.321947
2.6E-07
DoMYB46
PeMYB14
0.143144
0.445163
0.321555
3.64E-09
DoMYB87
PeMYB28
0.172107
0.540112
0.31865
6.7E-10
DoMYB3R1
PeMYB3R1
0.115854
0.367231
0.31548
4.86E-14
DoMYB63
PeMYB61
0.1622
0.485588
0.30112
7.53E-11
DoMYB97
PeMYB67
0.122021
0.419452
0.290905
4.14E-09
DoMYBR32
PeMYBR10
0.07528
0.263304
0.285905
3.16E-08
DoMYBR20
PeMYBR16
0.078868
0.286058
0.275706
6.34E-11
DoMYB95
PeMYB66
0.099102
0.362533
0.273361
2.15E-08
DoMYB52
PeMYB32
0.156645
0.578849
0.270614
4.84E-12
DoMYB36
PeMYB48
0.123647
0.465682
0.265519
1.93E-07
DoMYBR15
PeMYBR21
0.237202
0.901119
0.263231
0.003537
DoMYB06
PeMYB91
0.131802
0.517651
0.254616
1.24E-10
DoMYBR19
PeMYBR35
0.077925
0.310476
0.250985
2.15E-10
DoMYB09
PeMYB81
0.100041
0.398857
0.250819
8.1E-10
DoMYBR09
PeMYBR12
0.098051
0.392184
0.250012
1.16E-12
DoMYB77
PeMYB34
0.099167
0.399335
0.248331
4.09E-09
DoMYBR40
PeMYBR01
0.125086
0.51066
0.24495
4.89E-06
DoMYB91
PeMYB41
0.079636
0.333581
0.238729
2.76E-08
DoMYB38
PeMYB53
0.095368
0.4069
0.234376
7.07E-14
DoMYB04
PeMYB74
0.083609
0.36295
0.230358
4.17E-10
DoMYB43
PeMYB06
0.109957
0.48052
0.228829
3.95E-13
DoMYB68
PeMYB51
0.072732
0.325264
0.223608
3.18E-10
DoMYBR10
PeMYBR31
0.07664
0.349733
0.219138
4.03E-08
DoMYB111
PeMYB45
0.093899
0.434686
0.216015
2.4E-08
DoMYB19
PeMYB69
0.092868
0.459706
0.202017
2.53E-16
DoMYB92
PeMYB85
0.105135
0.526037
0.199862
1.51E-13
DoMYB108
PeMYB44
0.092366
0.469872
0.196577
1.14E-12
DoMYBR17
PeMYBR05
0.060215
0.308167
0.195397
1.47E-21
DoMYBR11
PeMYBR02
0.093764
0.48181
0.194608
1.11E-15
DoMYB26
PeMYB04
0.132161
0.687219
0.192312
6.56E-12
DoMYBR24
PeMYBR20
0.061053
0.343438
0.177769
5.88E-16
DoMYB23
PeMYB22
0.078265
0.460628
0.16991
3.87E-21
DoMYB07
PeMYB20
0.060264
0.356788
0.168906
1.25E-13
DoMYB84
PeMYB31
0.199724
1.27411
0.156756
5.73E-22
Continued
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Paralogous gene pairs
D. officinale
P. equestris
Ka
Ks
Ka/Ks
P-Value
(Fisher)
DoMYB59
PeMYB114
0.125627
0.887715
0.141517
1.47E-17
DoMYB13
PeMYB90
0.123877
0.879398
0.140866
8.44E-18
DoMYB17
PeMYB10
0.103123
0.733765
0.14054
1.39E-24
DoMYB01
PeMYB42
0.09443
0.685337
0.137786
5.07E-19
DoMYB96
PeMYB86
0.062697
0.46096
0.136014
2.21E-19
DoMYBR37
PeMYBR34
0.05965
0.454563
0.131225
6.45E-23
DoMYB57
PeMYB33
0.044033
0.349604
0.125952
1.68E-16
DoMYB64
PeMYB36
0.049998
0.39719
0.12588
1.82E-17
DoMYB66
PeMYB02
0.093345
0.755975
0.123477
3.24E-21
DoMYB24
PeMYB38
0.109397
0.886578
0.123393
3.53E-32
DoMYBR03
PeMYBR17
0.067015
0.544493
0.123078
2.42E-25
DoMYBR31
PeMYBR26
0.098098
0.816452
0.120151
1.76E-10
DoMYB61
PeMYB79
0.058864
0.495516
0.118792
1.14E-22
DoMYB103
PeMYB62
0.064227
0.566367
0.113402
4.68E-22
DoMYBR39
PeMYBR28
0.060879
0.555284
0.109635
1.13E-08
DoMYB51
PeMYB21
0.042387
0.400007
0.105965
2.99E-26
DoMYB18
PeMYB57
0.064086
0.618519
0.103613
5.75E-32
DoMYB47
PeMYB15
0.061099
0.602174
0.101465
7.01E-31
DoMYB34
PeMYB49
0.072019
0.786213
0.091603
5.96E-25
DoMYB69
PeMYB56
0.071401
0.785038
0.090952
1.5E-34
DoMYB44
PeMYB18
0.036016
0.429379
0.083879
1.45E-18
DoMYB112
PeMYB99
0.218163
2.74748
0.079405
2.25E-12
DoMYB12
PeMYB107
0.231365
3.25787
0.071017
5.2E-11
DoMYBR06
PeMYBR25
0.037052
0.562053
0.065922
1.61E-12
DoMYB09
PeMYB16
0.039861
0.637587
0.062519
5.85E-34
DoMYB80
PeMYB35
0.045443
0.806638
0.056336
7.78E-28
DoMYB116
PeMYB113
0.136094
2.97652
0.045722
4.68E-23
Table 3. Ka/Ks analysis and estimated selective pressure for orthologous gene pairs between P. equestris and
D. officinale. Ka non-synonymous substitutions per non-synonymous site, Ks synonymous substitutions per
synonymous site); Ka/Ks the ratio.
84 orthologous gene pairs between P. equestris and D. officinale were found (Table 3). In other words, about 50%
of orchid MYB genes appeared to be duplicated. This suggests that most orchid MYB genes underwent functional
diversity and expansion during evolution. In our research, most of these orthologous gene pairs were deduced to
be under negative selection with a Ka/Ks ratio less than 1, except for DoMYBR22 and PeMYBR29, which had a
Ka/Ks ratio greater than 1 (Table 3).
Cis-responsive element analysis of MYB genes from P. equestris and D. officinale.
All the 2000
bp upstream regions of the initiation codon of MYB genes from P. equestris and D. officinale were obtained from
their respective genomes. The stress response elements, tissue-specific activation, hormone responsive elements,
and other responsive elements were identified and analyzed (Fig. 2). Various stress responsive elements, including anaerobic induction, and response to antioxidant, dehydration, desiccation, drought, heat, low temperature,
stress, and wound elements, were analyzed. Only anaerobic induction, low temperature response and wound
response elements were widely present in the MYB gene promoters of both orchids (Fig. 2 and Supplementary
Table 3). Hormone responsive elements such as ABA, ethylene, GA and MeJA response were abundant in the
putative promoters of MYB genes, especially the ABA response element (Fig. 2). ABA, ethylene and MeJA are
related to stress response in plants55. These results suggested that the MYB genes may play an important role in
stress response in orchids.
Expression analyses of MYB genes under cold stress in D. officinale. MYB genes are involved
in a plant’s response to stress, such as drought and cold stress56–58. To gain insight into D. officinale MYB proteins in stress responses, the expression of MYB genes were evaluated under the control condition (20 °C) and
cold stress (4 °C) by comparing the FPKM values for each gene at 20 °C and 4 °C. Only nine of 117 R2R3-MYB
genes were modulated by cold stress, consisting of three up-regulated genes (DoMYB07, −33, and −69) and six
down-regulated genes (DoMYB01, −22, −37, −41, −51, and −96) (Fig. 3A and Supplementary Table 4). A total
of 15 out of the 42 MYBR genes (DoMYBR02, −04, −06, −09, −12, −14, −18, −20, −27, −31, −34, −36, −39,
−40, and −42) were modulated by cold stress, nine of which were up-regulated by at least two-fold while three
genes were down-regulated (less than 0.5-fold, Fig. 3B). Four up-regulated genes (DoMYBR06, −18, −31, and
−39) were from the I-box-like subfamily, seven up-regulated genes (DoMYBR02, −04, −20, −27, −34, −36
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Figure 2. Average number of cis-responsive elements of orchid MYB genes from each group. The cis-responsive
elements were analyzed in the 2 kb upstream promoter region of the initiation codon using the PlantCARE
database and the PLACE database.
and −42) were from the CCA1/R-R-like subfamily, and one gene (DoMYBR14) was from the TBP-like clade
(Fig. 3 and Supplementary Table 4). Three 3R-MYBs, all 4R-MYBs and only one CDC5-type genes of D. officinale
showed no differences between the control and cold stress (Fig. 3 and Supplementary Table 4). One 3R-MYB
(DoMYB3R4) gene was down-regulated (Fig. 3 and Supplementary Table 4).
Identification and expression analysis of R2R3-MYB genes related to polysaccharide biosynthesis. Polysaccharides are abundant in the secondary cell wall and testa mucilage in A. thaliana24,59. Members
of nine clades, namely C1 (AtMYB5), C2 (S6), C8 (S21), C26 (S2), C27 (S3), C30 (S8), C33 (S13), C34 (AtMYB26/
AtMYB67/AtMYB103) and C35 (AtMYB46/AtMYB83), are involved in secondary cell wall or testa mucilage
biosynthesis in A. thaliana (Table 2). The genes from these clades are probably involved in polysaccharide
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Figure 3. Expression patterns of the four groups of MYB genes from D. officinale under cold stress (4 °C).
Expression profiles of R2R3-MYB genes (A), MYBR genes (B), and 3R-MYB and atypical MYB genes (C). The
heatmap was generated using R version 3.4.1 with a color scale according to the gene expression level [log2
(FPKM + 1)]. Red indicates high gene expression level while green indicates a low level of expression. Each
column indicates a discrete biological sample. All treatments consisted of three biological replicates.
biosynthesis and are regarded as putative MYB genes of polysaccharide biosynthesis. A total of 32, 45 and 43
putative MYB polysaccharide biosynthesis genes were identified from A. thaliana, P. equestris and D. officinale,
respectively.
To comparatively analyze their expression patterns, the mRNA steady state levels of the putative MYB genes
related to polysaccharide biosynthesis were monitored in the roots, stems and leaves of A. thaliana, P. equestris
and D. officinale. Interestingly, 13 of the putative MYB genes from A. thaliana (AtMYB20, −42, −43, −46, −52,
−54, −55, −58, −63, −69, −83, −85, and −103) were highly expressed in stems, and most of these genes were
also involved in secondary cell wall biosynthesis (Fig. 4A, Supplementary Table 5). Eight (PeMYB10, −11, −14,
−26, −36, −42, −62, and −81) and nine (DoMYB02, −09, −14, −17, −31, −99, −105, −115, and −117) MYB
genes were highly expressed in the stems of P. equestris and D. officinale, respectively (Fig. 4B,C, Supplementary
Tables 5 and 6). All C35 (AtMYB46/AtMYB83) genes were abundantly expressed in stems (Fig. 4).
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Figure 4. Heat map displaying the expression pattern of nine clades of R2R3-MYB genes in roots, stems
and leaves. (A) Expression profile of 32 R2R3-MYB genes in different tissues or organs of A. thaliana from
microarray data sets available at Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/).
GEO accessions included: GSM131558, GSM131559 and GSM131560 (roots); GSM131655, GSM131656 and
GSM131657 (stems); GSM131528, GSM131529 and GSM131530 (leaves). The color scale represents log2 of
the mean of gene expression. (B) Expression profile of 36 R2R3-MYB genes from P. equestris. Expression data
were downloaded from Orchidbase (http://orchidbase.itps.ncku.edu.tw). The color scale was based on the gene
expression level, which was measured as log2 (gene expression valuen + 1). (C) Analysis of the 43 R2R3-MYB
genes from D. officinale based on an analysis of qRT-PCR results, and visualized as a heatmap. The color scale
represents log2 of the mean of gene expression. At least two biological replicates were performed.
Screening R2R3-MYB genes involved in biosynthesis of water-soluble polysaccharides in D.
officinale and their expression under water deficit stress. D. officinale is one of the most precious
Chinese herbs with abundant WSPs in its stems33. The accumulation of WSPs in stems changes with plant
growth34. To further screen the genes involved in the biosynthesis of WSPs, the expression of the 43 D. officinale
genes belonging to the clusters C1 (AtMYB5), C2 (S6), C8 (S21), C26 (S2), C27 (S3), C30 (S8), C33 (S13), C34
(AtMYB26/AtMYB67/AtMYB103) and C35 (AtMYB46/AtMYB83) was analyzed across five plant developmental
stages. In the S1 stage, plants were in the vegetative stage and had lowest WSP content (Fig. 5A,B). In stages S2-4,
plants stopped growing and accumulated WSPs rapidly (Fig. 5A,B). In the S5 stage, plants started to undergo
senescence and degradation of WSPs (Fig. 5A,B).
Ten genes, out of the 43 tested, showed an expression pattern that mirrored the accumulation pattern of WPS.
Among these genes, six peaked at S2 (DoMYB28, −74, −75, −81, −97 and −111) and four at S3 (DoMYB27,
−29, −54 and −78). All these genes were poorly expressed at S1, and most of them at S5 returned to the levels of
S1 (Fig. 5C). The 10 MYB genes included two (DoMYB74 and −75) from C2 (S6), three (DoMYB27, −97, and
−111) from C8 (S21), three (DoMYB28, −54, and −78) from C26 (S2) and two (DoMYB29 and −81) from C33
(S13). The remaining genes were either not detected or were inconsistent with changes in polysaccharide content
(Supplementary Fig. 2).
In our previous studies in D. officinale, the genes of the WSP biosynthetic pathway were shown to be involved
in abiotic stresses influenced by PEG and NaCl treatment34,36. Thus, the expression of candidate genes under
150 g/L PEG, 300 mM mannitol and 250 mM NaCl treatments was analyzed. Our results indicate that most of
the candidate genes were up-regulated under salinity stress, i.e. DoMYB28, −29, −54, −75, −78, −81 and −111.
Only two genes (DoMYB74 and −75) were up-regulated after exposure to PEG while only one gene (DoMYB81)
was down-regulated after exposure to both PEG and mannitol (Fig. 6). DoMYB27 expression showed no significant difference between stress treatments and the control (Fig. 6). DoMYB75 was up-regulated in response to PEG
and NaCl, similar with other WSP biosynthetic pathway genes such as DoPMM36 and DoCSLAs34.
Overexpression of DoMYB75 in A. thaliana confirms its role in the biosynthesis of water-soluble
polysaccharides. DoMYB75 may be involved in WSP biosynthesis, so it was used in further analyses. In a
phylogenetic tree, the C2 (S6) clade was divided into two branches: cluster I included proteins of monocots (P.
equestris and D. officinale) while cluster II only contained the proteins of A. thaliana, a dicot (Supplementary
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Figure 5. Screening candidate R2R3-MYB genes related to the biosynthesis of WSPs in D. officinale by qRTPCR. (A) Five stages of D. officinale stems were used to analyze gene expression. (B) Polysaccharide content in
the stems of five stages. DW, dry weight. (C) Candidate genes identified using qRT-PCR. Details pertaining to
S1-S5 can be found in the materials and methods and results sections. Bars represent mean ± SD (n = 3). Three
biological replicates were performed. Different letters in each bar are significantly different at P < 0.05 (Duncan’s
multiple range test).
Fig. 3A). The complete CDS of DoMYB75 without a termination codon was cloned into an over-expression vector (pCABIA 1302 vector) driven by the CaMV-35S promoter (Supplementary Fig. 3B). DoMYB75 was detected
and expressed in DoMYB75 transgenic Arabidopsis lines, but not in WT plants (Fig. 7A,B). Overexpression of
DoMYB75 showed no difference in germinating seeds or seedlings (Fig. 7C). The average WSP content of seeds
of all transgenic plants (around 79 mg/g DW) was significantly higher than WT plants (~69 mg/g DW, Fig. 7D).
This indicates that DoMYB75 plays a role in WSP biosynthesis in A. thaliana seeds.
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Figure 6. Analysis of the expression level of ten R2R3-MYB genes by qRT-PCR after D. officinale seedlings
were subjected to PEG (150 g/L), mannitol (300 mM) and salt (NaCl, 250 mM) treatments. Control are
seedlings treated with ½MS medium supplemented with 20 g/L sucrose (pH 5.4). Bars represent mean ± SD
of three technical replicates. Three biological replicates of each treatment were performed. *indicates P < 0.05;
**indicates P < 0.001 between control and stress treatments following Dunnett’s test.
Discussion
Identification and classification of MYB proteins. In this study, we identified 159 and 165 MYB genes
from P. equestris and D. officinale genomes, respectively. Although these orchid species belong to different genera,
the number of MYB genes in their genomes is similar. Four groups of MYB proteins were found in D. officinale,
similar to previous studies in other plant species such as A. thaliana6, G. max2,13 and P. bretschneideri8. However,
no 4R-MYB gene was found in the genome of P. equestris, which had only one atypical MYB gene, namely the
CDC5-type gene. Another monocot, rice, contained one CDC5-type gene but not a 4R-MYB gene in its genome11,
similar to P. equestris in our study. This suggests that 4R-MYB genes are not found in all higher plants and might
not play essential roles in all plants.
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Figure 7. Characterization of the DoMYB75 gene in the biosynthesis of WSPs. (A) Analysis of the DoMYB75
gene in wild type (WT) and transgenic lines by semi-quantitative PCR. (B) Analysis of the DoMYB75 gene
in WT and transgenic lines by qRT-PCR. Expression levels were calculated relative to transgenic line 1. (C)
Germinating seeds (one day after stratification) and seedlings (5 days after stratification) of WT and transgenic
lines showed no obvious phenotypic changes. (D) Content of WSPs in mature dry seeds of A. thaliana.
**Indicates P < 0.01 between WT and transgenic lines following Dunnett’s test.
The MYBR proteins in both orchids could be divided into five subfamilies, with CCA1/RR-like as the largest
subfamily, and containing two TRB-like genes in their genomes. Five MYBR subfamilies were also found in
other higher plants such as A. thaliana, S. lycopersicum, V. vinifera, and B. distachyon, with the number of CCA1/
RR-like genes ranging from 21 to 42, and with all plants just containing only one or two TRF-like genes in their
genomes2. The R2R3-MYB group is largest group of the MYB family, with more than 100 members having been
found in the genomes of both monocots and dicots.
The two orchids contain 115 and 117 R2R3-MYB genes in their genomes, respectively. Feller et al.12 predicted
that the plant R2R3-MYB group underwent extensive amplification before the separation of monocots and dicots
but after the separation of plants and animals. This explains why many members of R2R3-MYB genes have been
found in orchids. The majority of clades of the R2R3-MYB family are present in both orchids and in the model
plant A. thaliana (Supplementary Fig. 1), suggesting that they were present before the divergence between monocots and dicots. However, there is also an orchid-specific (C17) and a P. equestris-specific clade (C11), while in
both orchids, C3 (S15), C4 (S5) and C13 (S23) are missing (Table 2). It can be deduced that several R2R3-MYB
genes might have been lost in orchids during evolution, or experienced an amplification process that might have
caused a change in their function in dicots.
The MYB genes play a role in abiotic stress responses.
The MYB genes involved in abiotic stress
responses have been widely investigated in plants and have mainly focused on the R2R3-MYB group. For example, R2R3-MYB genes were involved in high temperature stress by increasing the levels of cellular abscisic acid60,
cold stress by regulating CBF genes or ascorbic acid synthesis56,61, drought stress62,63, and salt stress by regulating
ABA signaling64,65. Among the 117 R2R3-MYB D. officinale genes, only nine that were modulated by low temperature were found in this study (Fig. 3). DoMYB28, −29, −54, −75, −78, −81, and −111 were up-regulated
under salinity stress (Fig. 6). The DoMYB74 and DoMYB75 homologues, which were recognized as the C2 (S6)
clade of R2R3-MYB genes, displayed different expression patterns in response to the two osmotic stresses, PEG
and mannitol (Fig. 6). This may due to different cis-responsive elements among their transcriptional regulatory
regions. For example, the putative promoter of DoMYB75 contained two ABA response elements, three dehydration response elements, one drought response element, three ethylene response elements, and six MeJA response
elements, while DoMYB74 had only one ABA response element, one dehydration response element, two ethylene
response elements, and four MeJA response elements, but no drought response element in its putative promoter
(Supplementary Table 3).
MYBR genes are also involved in stress responses. For example, the MYB-related gene AQUILO improves
cold tolerance in transgenic A. thaliana and caused the accumulation of oligosaccharides66, OsMYB48-1 is
involved in salt stress by regulating the expression of stress-related genes67, and OsMYBR1 promoted drought
stress in transgenic rice by increasing the free proline and soluble sugar content and up-regulated the expression
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of stress-related genes under drought treatment68. In this work, nine DoMYBR genes were up-regulated by cold
stress, similar to the above studies, suggesting that the MYB genes in the MYBR or R2R3-MYB groups play roles
in plant abiotic stress responses.
The involvement of R2R3-MYB genes in polysaccharide biosynthesis.
Secondary cell walls
(SCWs), which are mainly found in plant stems, are primarily composed of cellulose, lignin and hemicelluloses
(xylan and glucomannan)20. Several TFs are involved in the regulation of SCW biosynthesis. MYB TFs make up
the vast majority of TFs in transcriptional regulation of SCW biosynthesis21. The R2R3-MYB genes involved in
plant SCW biosynthesis are thought to regulate the biosynthesis of SCW polysaccharides. For example, AtMYB46
acts as a regulator in SCW formation and directly regulates the expression of CSLA9, which encodes mannan
synthase in A. thaliana22,69. AtMYB75 in the C2 (S6) group acts as a regulator in cell wall thickening, testa, as well
as biosynthesis of anthocyanins70–72. Another MYB gene, AtMYB113, in the C2 (S6) subgroup increases pigment
production and results in strongly visible anthocyanin pigmentation73. 35S::DoMYB75 transgenic Arabidopsis
lines showed no anthocyanin, possibly due to the low levels of sucrose present in the medium, but increased WSPs
in seeds of transgenic lines (Fig. 7).
In conclusion, 159 and 165 MYB genes were identified from P. equestris and D. officinale genomes, respectively. They could be classified into four groups in both orchids: MYBR, R2R3-MYB, 3R-MYB and atypical MYB
proteins. Only three R2R3-MYB genes and 12 MYBR genes from D. officinale were up-regulated under low temperature, suggesting that MYB genes may play a role in the cold stress response in this orchid. Ten R2R3-MYB
genes with an expression pattern corresponding to WSP accumulation were identified and regarded as the candidate genes involved in WSP biosynthesis. Over-expression of one candidate gene (DoMYB75) in A. thaliana
caused the accumulation of WSPs in A. thaliana seeds.
Data Availability
The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 31800204
and 31871547), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province Projects (grant numbers
2016A030310012 and 2018A030313603).
Author Contributions
J.D. supervised the project. C.H. conceived the research and designed the experiments. C.S. performed qRT-PCR.
H.W. and M.Z. constructed the vector and generated the transgenic lines. X.Z. provided the plant materials. M.L.
performed the bioinformatics analyses. C.H., J.T. and JATdS collectively interpreted the results and wrote all
drafts of the manuscript. All authors approved the final draft for submission and take full public responsibility for
the content of the manuscript.
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Additional Information
Supplementary information accompanies this paper at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49812-8.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
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