Genome-Wide Identification of the MYB Family in Morus atropurpurea and Functional Characterization of MaDIV for Its Possible Involvement in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis

作者：X Chen, Yixin Liang, Liu Xingxing, Baozhong Zhu, Chengli Zhou, Fan Wei, Aichun Zhao · 发表于：Genes · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.3390/genes17060702 · 研究领域：Plant Gene Expression Analysis、Plant Molecular Biology Research、Bioactive natural compounds

Background: Anthocyanin biosynthesis is tightly controlled by MYB transcription factors, yet the role of repressors, particularly those in the DIVARICATA-like (DIV) subfamily, remains poorly characterized. Methods: A genome-wide identification of MYB family members was performed in the mulberry (Morus atropurpurea) genome using a hidden Markov model and BLAST-based searches. Putative MYB genes were phylogenetically classified, and their expression profiles were analyzed across three fruit developmental stages. A DIV-like R2R3-MYB candidate, MaDIV, was functionally characterized via subcellular localization, quantitative real-time PCR, and heterologous overexpression in tobacco. Results: A total of 145 MaMYB genes were identified and classified into 31 distinct subfamilies. MaDIV expression showed a progressive decline during fruit ripening, which significantly correlated with increasing anthocyanin accumulation. Heterologous overexpression of MaDIV in tobacco led to a 42% reduction in floral anthocyanin content compared with wild-type plants. Concomitantly, the expression of the key anthocyanin biosynthetic gene NtDFR was strongly suppressed, whereas the flavonol synthase gene NtFLS1 was significantly upregulated. Conclusions: These findings point to a possible involvement of MaDIV in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis and provide preliminary evidence for the functional diversification of the DIV-like MYB subfamily in plants. The results contribute to a better underst...