Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of Provide Insight into Anthocyanin Biosynthesis Regulation Mechanism of var. .

The R2R3-MYB proteins comprise the largest class of MYB transcription factors, which play an essential role in regulating anthocyanin synthesis in various plant species. var. is an important colorful anthocyanins-rich garden plant. The spatio-temporal accumulation of anthocyanins in chimeric leaves, bracts, flowers, and peels makes it an important plant with a long ornamental period and highly improves its commercial value. We conducted a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of the gene family based on genome data from var. . Phylogenetic analysis, gene structure and motif analysis, gene duplication, collinearity, and promoter analysis were used to analyze the characteristics of this gene family. In this work, a total of 99 genes were identified and classified into 33 subfamilies according to phylogenetic analysis, and most of them were localized in the nucleus. We found these genes were mapped to 25 chromosomes. Gene structure and protein motifs were conserved among genes, especially within the same subfamily. Collinearity analysis revealed four pairs of tandem duplicated genes and 32 segmental duplicates in genes, indicating that segmental duplication contributed to the amplification of the gene family. A total of 273 ABRE responsiveness, 66 TCA elements, 97 CGTCA motifs, and TGACG motifs were the main cis elements in the promoter region under response to ABA, SA, and MEJA. These results revealed the potential function of genes in response to hormone stress. Ten R2R3-MYBs were found to have high homology to MYB proteins reported to be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis from other plants. RT-qPCR results revealed the 10 genes showed tissue-specific expression patterns, six of them expressed the highest in the flower, two genes in the bract, and two genes in the leaf. These results suggested that these genes may be the candidates that regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis of . var. in the flower, leaf, and bract, respectively. In addition, the expressions of these 10 genes were differentially induced by ABA, MEJA, and SA, implying that these genes may play crucial roles in hormone-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis. Our study provided a comprehensive and systematic analysis of genes and identified the genes regulating the spatial-temporal anthocyanin biosynthesis in var. , which would be valuable for further study on the anthocyanin regulation mechanism of var.