Post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweetpotato by Ib-miR2111 and IbKFB: Implications for health promotion

作者：Ruimin Tang, Cailiang Zhao, Jingjian Dong, Xiayu Liu, Chang Lu, Jianghui Li, Haitao Dong, Yuting Lv, Zhuang Luo, Meiling Wu, Shan Shen, Qianwen Shan, Yuan Li, Qijun Chen, Runzhi Li, Liheng He, Qinghe Cao, Guiliang Tang, Xiaoyun Jia · 发表于：Journal of Advanced Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.jare.2025.01.023 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Plant Gene Expression Analysis、Plant Molecular Biology Research、Plant tissue culture and regeneration

INTRODUCTION: Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is a genetically intricate hexaploid crop. The purple-fleshed variety, enriched with anthocyanin pigments, is an outstanding source for creating high-value functional products. Previous research on anthocyanin biosynthesis has primarily focused on the above-ground plant parts at the transcriptional level. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying anthocyanin accumulation in underground tuberous roots of sweetpotato remain largely unexplored. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to elucidate the post-transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms of Ib-miR2111 and its target gene IbKFB in anthocyanin synthesis in sweetpotato. METHODS: Genetic manipulation techniques were used to validate the function of Ib-miR2111 and IbKFB in anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweetpotato. To investigate how IbKFB works, a series of protein interaction assays, including yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), GST pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), and ubiquitination, were conducted. Additionally, the impact of anthocyanin extracts from the genetically modified sweetpotato lines on inflammatory cells morphology, cytokine expression, and cell proliferation were evaluated using in vitro assays. RESULTS: Purple-fleshed sweetpotato (PFSP) varieties exhibited elevated Ib-miR2111 expression compared to white-fleshed sweetpotato (WFSP) varieties, with an inverse expression pattern in IbKFB. Genetic manipulations, i...