Cotton GhMYB7 is predominantly expressed in developing fibers and regulates secondary cell wall biosynthesis in transgenic Arabidopsis

The secondary cell wall in mature cotton fibers contains over 90%cellulose with low quantities of xylan and lignin.However,little is known regarding the regulation of secondary cell wall biosynthesis in cotton fibers.In this study,we characterized an R2R3-MYB transcription factor,Gh MYB7,in cotton.Gh MYB7 is expressed at a high level in developing fibers and encodes a MYB protein that is targeted to the cell nucleus and has transcriptional activation activity.Ectopic expression of Gh MYB7 in Arabidopsis resulted in small,curled,dark green leaves and also led to shorter inflorescence stems.A cross-sectional assay of basal stems revealed that cell wall thickness of vessels and interfascicular fibers was higher in transgenic lines overexpressing Gh MYB7 than in the wild type.Constitutive expression of Gh MYB7 in Arabidopsis activated the expression of a suite of secondary cell wall biosynthesis-related genes(including some secondary cell wall-associated transcription factors),leading to the ectopic deposition of cellulose and lignin.The ectopic deposition of secondary cell walls may have been initiated before the cessation of cell expansion.Moreover,Gh MYB7 was capable of binding to the promoter regions of At SND1 and At Ces A4,suggesting that Gh MYB7 may function upstream of NAC transcription factors.Collectively,these findings suggest that Gh MYB7 is a potential transcriptional activator,which may participate in regulating secondary cell wall biosynthesis of cotton fibers.