The anthocyanin formation of purple leaf is associated with the activation of LfiHY5 and LfiMYB75 in crape myrtle

Purple-leafed plants not only have a higher resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses,but also have higher ornamental value.Anthocyanins are vital for leaf color formation,growth and development of purple leaves.However,the molecular mechanism underlying purple leaf formation in Lagerstroemia indica remains unclear.Metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis of purple-leafed cultivar‘Ebony Embers’and greenleafed cultivar‘Arapahoe’showed that the high expression of anthocyanin structure genes induced hyperaccumulation of cyanidin and pelargonidin derivatives,making the leaves purple.LfiHY5,LfiMYB75 and LfibHLH1 were identified using correlation analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis.In‘Arapahoe’‘Ebony Embers’population,LfiHY5 and LfiMYB75 showed significant positive correlation with leaf anthocyanin content.Transient expression of LfiMYB75 and LfiHY5 in tobacco and purple-leafed crape myrtle indicated that the two genes activated anthocyanin synthesis.Yeast two-hybrid analysis showed that LfiMYB75 and LfibHLH1 could form a complex that enhanced anthocyanin synthesis.Yeast monohybrid and dual-luciferase assays confirmed that LfiHY5 activated the expression of LfiMYB75,to activate the transcription of anthocyanin structural genes LfiCHS and LfiANS.Moreover,there were three alleles of LfiHY5 in crape myrtle,and the different sequences had different activation effects on LfiMYB75.In conclusion,the results showed that LfiHY5 led to upregulate the transcription of LfiMYB75,and LfiMYB75 formed a complex with LfibHLH1,which increased the transcription level of LfiCHS and LfiANS to affect anthocyanin synthesis in crape myrtle.

Genome assembly and resequencing analyses provide new insights into the evolution, domestication and ornamental traits of crape myrtle

Crape myrtle(Lagerstroemia indica)is a globally used ornamental woody plant and is the representative species of Lagerstroemia.However,studies on the evolution and genomic breeding of L.indica have been hindered by the lack of a reference genome.Here we assembled the first high-quality genome of L.indica using PacBio combined with Hi-C scaffolding to anchor the 329.14-Mb genome assembly into 24 pseudochromosomes.We detected a previously undescribed independent whole-genome triplication event occurring 35.5 million years ago in L.indica following its divergence from Punica granatum.After resequencing 73 accessions of Lagerstroemia,the main parents of modern crape myrtle cultivars were found to be L.indica and L.fauriei.During the process of domestication,genetic diversity tended to decrease in many plants,but this was not observed in L.indica.We constructed a high-density genetic linkage map with an average map distance of 0.33 cM.Furthermore,we integrated the results of quantitative trait locus(QTL)using genetic mapping and bulk segregant analysis(BSA),revealing that the major-effect interval controlling internode length(IL)is located on chr1,which contains CDL15,CRG98,and GID1b1 associated with the phytohormone pathways.Analysis of gene expression of the red,purple,and white flower-colour flavonoid pathways revealed that differential expression of multiple genes determined the flower colour of L.indica,with white flowers having the lowest gene expression.In addition,BSA of purple-and green-leaved individuals of populations of L.indica was performed,and the leaf colour loci were mapped to chr12 and chr17.Within these intervals,we identified MYB35,NCED,and KAS1.Our genome assembly provided a foundation for investigating the evolution,population structure,and differentiation of Myrtaceae species and accelerating the molecular breeding of L.indica.