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Fenz, police respond to incident at plant food and research facility in mt albert.

Emergency services respond to an incident involving chemicals at Plant and Food Research. Photo: RNZ / Rayssa Almeida

Workers from Plant and Food Research institute in Auckland's Mount Albert had to evacuate today after a chemical odour triggered the fire alarm about a 12.45pm.

Ten fire trucks responded to the call, alongside a Hato Hone St John ambulance and two police cars.

Firefighters have since left the scene.

A worker from the institute, who RNZ agreed not to name, said she heard about the incident from an emergency email.

"I got an email from work saying that this happened. We also have a group chat and some of our colleagues sent the video of the fire trucks coming through.

"I was off-site, I was on the field today since 6am, so I didn't know what was going on."

She said she also received an email from the day care centre looking after her two children.

"The day care is right next to the [research] building, so they saw everything.

"They emailed us advising the kids were safe."

Workers could not access their vehicles while emergency services were on-site, she said.

"I went out early in the morning with the [company] car to the field, but I couldn't bring it back because of the closure.

"A lot of people got taxis home, because our cars stayed inside the building and we could not get in."

Fire and Emergency said it worked with partner-agencies to contain the situation.

"Crews have since confirmed there is no risk and have handed the site back to owners," a spokesperson said.

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MYBs Drive Novel Consumer Traits in Fruits and Vegetables

Affiliations.

1 New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Mt Albert, Auckland, New Zealand; School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: [email protected].
2 New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Mt Albert, Auckland, New Zealand.
PMID: 30033210
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.06.001

Eating plant-derived compounds can lead to a longer and healthier life and also benefits the environment. Innovation in the fresh food sector, as well as new cultivars, can improve consumption of fruit and vegetables, with MYB transcription factors being a target to drive this novelty. Plant MYB transcription factors are implicated in diverse roles including development, hormone signalling, and metabolite biosynthesis. The reds and blues of fruit and vegetables provided by anthocyanins, phlobaphenes, and betalains are controlled by specific R2R3 MYBs. New studies are now revealing that MYBs also control carotenoid biosynthesis and other quality traits, such as flavour and texture. Future breeding techniques may manipulate or create alleles of key MYB transcription factors.

Keywords: anthocyanin; bHLH; carotenoid; flavour; new breeding technologies.

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Plant Physiol
v.190(1); 2022 Sep

The apple BTB protein MdBT2 positively regulates MdCOP1 abundance to repress anthocyanin biosynthesis

State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yang-Ling, Shaanxi 712100, China

Ting-Ting Zhang

Yuan-yuan li, kui lin-wang.

The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mt. Albert, Auckland 92169, New Zealand

Richard V Espley

Yuan-peng du, qing-mei guan, feng-wang ma, chun-xiang you, xiao-fei wang, associated data.

The ubiquitin ligase CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) plays a central role in light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis. However, the upstream regulatory factors of COP1 remain poorly understood, particularly in horticultural plants. Here, we identified an MdCOP1-interacting protein, BROAD-COMPLEX, TRAMTRACK AND BRIC A BRAC2 (MdBT2), in apple ( Malus domestica ). MdBT2 is a BTB protein that directly interacts with and stabilizes MdCOP1 by inhibiting self-ubiquitination. Fluorescence observation and cell fractionation assays showed that MdBT2 increased the abundance of MdCOP1 in the nucleus. Moreover, a series of phenotypic analyses indicated that MdBT2 promoted MdCOP1-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of the MdMYB1 transcription factor, inhibiting the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes and anthocyanin accumulation. Overall, our findings reveal a molecular mechanism by which MdBT2 positively regulates MdCOP1, providing insight into MdCOP1-mediated anthocyanin biosynthesis.

MdBT2 directly interacts with MdCOP1 in the nucleus and stabilizes the MdCOP1 protein to repress anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple.

Introduction

Anthocyanins are important pigmented flavonoids that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. Anthocyanins mainly exist in the vacuoles of flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves, and other organs in the form of glycosides, giving plants different colors ranging from orange to blue and purple ( Allan and Espley, 2018 ). Anthocyanins can attract pollinators and protect plants against low temperature, drought, high light, and nutritional deficiency ( Tanaka et al., 2008 ). Many fruits, such as apple ( Malus domestica ), grape ( Vitis vinifera ), strawberry ( Fragaria ananassa ), litchi ( Litchi chinensis ), and mangosteen ( Garcinia mangostana ) are rich in anthocyanins. Anthocyanins not only provide fruit with a colorful appearance to attract consumers, but also have nutritional and pharmacological benefits for humans, such as scavenging free radicals, preventing cardiovascular diseases, combating aging, and improving vision ( Lila et al., 2016 ; Cassidy, 2018 ).

Anthocyanin biosynthesis is a branch of the flavonoid synthetic pathway and has been extensively studied in plants ( Honda and Moriya, 2018 ). Anthocyanins are derived from phenylalanine and synthesized by a series of enzymes, including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase, flavanone-3β-hydroxylase, dihydroflavonol-4-reductase, anthocyanin synthase, and UDP-glucose: flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase ( Koes et al., 2005 ). Anthocyanin biosynthesis is influenced by many internal and external factors. For example, strong light, low temperature, and low nitrogen levels promote anthocyanin accumulation ( Rubin et al., 2009 ). Environmental signals regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis primarily through the v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog/basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH)/WD40 complex, which includes R2R3-MYB transcription factors, bHLH transcription factors, and WD repeat proteins ( Espley et al., 2009 ; Jaakola, 2013 ).

Light is an important factor that regulates anthocyanin biosynthesis through the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) and the MYB transcription factors PRODUCTION OF ANTHOCYANINPIGMENT (PAP)1 and PAP2 ( Osterlund et al., 2000 ; Feller et al., 2011 ). HY5 promotes anthocyanin accumulation by directly binding to the promoters of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes ( Shin et al., 2013 ; An et al., 2017 ). In apple ( Malus × domestica ), MdMYB1, MdMYB10, and MdMYBA are strongly induced by light to enhance anthocyanin accumulation and fruit coloration ( Takos et al., 2006 ; Allan et al., 2008 ). These transcription factors are regulated by light not only at the transcriptional level, but also at the post-translational level. In apple and Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ), MdMYB1 and HY5 are ubiquitinated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) and degraded via the 26S proteasome in response to darkness ( Osterlund et al., 2000 ; Li et al., 2012 ).

COP1, a key component of the light signaling pathway, plays a critical negative role in photomorphogenesis. COP1 is an E3 ligase of ∼76 kDa that contains a RING-finger motif, a coiled-coil domain, and WD40 repeats ( Ponnu and Hoecker, 2021 ). COP1 promotes degradation of target proteins to regulate anthocyanin accumulation, hypocotyl elongation, flowering time, stomatal development, and other activities ( Han et al., 2020 ). When plants are grown in the dark, COP1 accumulates in the nucleus and inhibits photomorphogenesis by destabilizing target proteins such as HY5 ( Holm et al., 2002 ), PAP1/2 ( Maier et al., 2013 ), CONSTANS (CO; Jang et al., 2008 ; Liu et al., 2008 ), BLUE INSENSITIVE TRAIT 1 (BIT1; Hong et al., 2008 ), LONG AFTER FAR-RED LIGHT 1 (LAF1; Seo et al., 2003 ), and other photomorphogenesis-promoting transcription factors. Under light conditions, COP1 is transferred from the nucleus to the cytoplasm; this prevents ubiquitination and degradation of target proteins, allowing plants to undergo photomorphogenesis ( Henriques et al., 2009 ; Lau and Deng, 2012 ).

Because it is a key regulator, the protein abundance, activity, and localization of COP1 are strictly controlled to ensure the proper accumulation of target proteins. SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA-105 (SPA) and COP1 proteins form a tetrameric complex consisting of two SPA and two COP1 proteins to modulate COP1 activity ( Ponnu and Hoecker, 2021 ). Several additional factors and mechanisms regulating COP1 have also been identified. FAR-RED INSENSITIVE 219 (FIN219) interacts with COP1 and reduces nuclear accumulation of COP1 in the dark ( Wang et al., 2011 ). The SUMO E3 ligase SAP AND MIZ1 DOMAIN-CONTAINING LIGASE1 (SIZ1) enhances COP1 activity by sumoylating a SUMO consensus motif in the coiled-coil domain of COP1 ( Lin et al., 2016 ). The F-box protein FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX1 (FKF1) interacts with COP1 and inhibits dimerization of COP1 during photoperiodic flowering ( Lee et al., 2017 ). A genetic screen for factors modulating COP1 yielded three COP1-interacting proteins. COP1 SUPPRESSOR 1 (CSU1), a RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase, negatively regulates COP1 protein abundance in the darkness ( Xu et al., 2014 ). COP1 SUPPRESSOR2 (CSU2) interacts with the coiled-coil domain of COP1 and represses its activity in vitro ( Xu et al., 2015 ). PINOID (PID), a Ser/Thr kinase, directly phosphorylates COP1 at Ser20, which leads to a moderate decrease in COP1 activity ( Lin et al., 2017 ).

The role of COP1 in regulating plant photomorphogenesis has been well studied. However, little is known about the upstream regulators of COP1 in horticultural plants. In this study, we used yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening to identify factors upstream of MdCOP1 in apple, and identified the BTB protein MdBT2. MdBT2 belongs to the BTB/TAZ subfamily. Both the Arabidopsis and apple genomes have five BTB/TAZ proteins. AtBT2 responds to multiple hormones and stresses, such as abscisic acid (ABA), auxin, circadian rhythm, physical damage, and nutrient status ( Mandadi et al., 2009 ). Recently, AtBT2 was identified as the most central and connected gene in the nitrogen use efficiency network in Arabidopsis ( Araus et al., 2016 ). In apple, MdBT2 participates in anthocyanin biosynthesis, nitrogen usage, malate accumulation, iron homeostasis, and plant growth by modulating the stability of MdMYB1 ( Wang et al., 2018 ), MdMYB88/MdMYB124 ( Zhang et al., 2021 ), MdMYB73 ( Zhang et al., 2020 ), and RGA-LIKE3a (MdRGL3a; Ren et al., 2021 ). Here, we found that MdBT2 interacted with MdCOP1 and promoted MdCOP1 accumulation in the nucleus. Further genetic analyses showed that MdBT2 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis in an MdCOP1-dependent manner. Our results reveal the molecular mechanism by which MdBT2 positively regulates MdCOP1 during light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis.

MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis

To characterize the function of MdBT2 in anthocyanin biosynthesis, transgenic apple plantlets were generated to overexpress and silence MdBT2 ( 35S::MdBT2-OX and 35S::MdBT2-anti , respectively). Reverse transcription–quantitative PCR (RT–qPCR) analysis showed that MdBT2 transcripts were ∼250% higher in MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 and ∼60% lower in MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 transgenic plantlets compared to GL-3 ( Supplemental Figure S1A ). After 7 days of continuous light, the MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 transgenic lines accumulated less and the MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 lines accumulated more anthocyanin than GL-3 ( Figure 1, A and B ). MdMYB1 plays an important role in anthocyanin biosynthesis ( Allan et al., 2008 ), so we measured the expression of MdMYB1 at the transcriptional and translational levels. MdMYB1 transcripts levels did not change significantly in the MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 and MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 transgenic lines ( Supplemental Figure S1B ). To assess the endogenous MdMYB1 protein content, we customized a specific polyclonal MdMYB1 antibody ( Supplemental Figure S2 ). Compared with GL-3, the MdMYB1 protein content was lower in MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 and higher in MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 ( Figure 1C ). Moreover, transcripts of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes MdDFR , MdUFGT , MdF3H , and MdCHS were markedly suppressed in MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 but upregulated in MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 ( Supplemental Figure S1, C–F ).

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MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis. A and B, The phenotype (A) and anthocyanin content (B) of 35S::MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 and 35S::MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 transgenic apple plantlets. The 20-day-old apple culture seedlings were treated by white light supplemented with UV-B for 1 week to accumulate anthocyanin. GL-3 was used as control. C, The abundance of MdMYB1 protein in the transgenic apple plantlets was detected with anti-MdMYB1 antibody. Actin was used as the loading control. D–G, The phenotype (D), MdMYB1 expression level (E), anthocyanin content (F), and MdMYB1 protein content (G) of apple leaves overexpressing of MdMYB1 ( pIR-MdMYB1 ) and suppressing MdMYB1 ( TRV-MdMYB1 ). The injected leaves were placed under white light supplemented with UV-B for 5–7 days. Empty pIR and TRV vectors were used as controls. Results shown are mean ± se , based on three independent biological replicates. Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t test: n.s., P > 0.05; * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01.

Subsequently, we selected two transgenic lines ( MdBT2-OX#5 and MdBT2-anti#13 ) and performed viral vector-mediated transient expression in the leaves to further analyze the genetic relationship between MdBT2 and MdMYB1 . The overexpression of MdMYB1 ( pIR-MdMYB1 ) promoted anthocyanin biosynthesis compared with pIR , whereas suppression of MdMYB1 ( TRV-MdMYB1 ) inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis compared with TRV ( Figure 1, D–F ). The overexpression of MdMYB1 in the MdBT2-OX#5 leaves promoted anthocyanin biosynthesis, reversing the phenotype of anthocyanin biosynthesis inhibition observed in MdBT2-OX#5 . Correspondingly, suppression of MdMYB1 in MdBT2-anti#13 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis ( Figure 1, D–F ). Moreover, the anthocyanin content of injected leaves was positively associated with the abundance of MdMYB1 protein ( Figure 1G; Supplemental Figure S3 ). These results indicated that MdBT2 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis through an MdMYB1-mediated pathway, which is consistent with previous studies ( Wang et al., 2018 ).

MdBT2 interacts with MdCOP1

MdBT2, an MdCOP1-interacting protein, was identified through Y2H screening. Several assays were conducted to confirm the interaction between MdBT2 and MdCOP1. First, glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assays were used to detect the MdBT2–MdCOP1 interaction in vitro. GST and GST-MdBT2 were each incubated with His-tagged MdCOP1. The results showed that His-MdCOP1 was pulled down only by GST-MdBT2 but not by GST, demonstrating that MdBT2 physically interacted with MdCOP1 in vitro ( Figure 2A ). Co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) assays were performed to verify this interaction in vivo. The 35S::Myc-MdCOP1 transgenic apple calli were transformed with 35S::GFP or 35S::MdBT2-GFP to generate apple calli co-expressing either 35S::Myc-MdCOP1/35S::GFP or 35S::Myc-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2-GFP , respectively. The results show that the MdBT2-GFP fusion protein, but not GFP protein alone, could co-immunoprecipitate the Myc-MdCOP1 fusion protein ( Figure 2B ). The bimolecular ﬂuorescence complementation (BiFC) assays were also performed to detect the subcellular localization of MdBT2–MdCOP1. ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR3 (MdERF3), a nuclear-localized transcription factor that did not interact with MdBT2 or MdCOP1, served as the negative control ( Supplemental Figure S4 ). Nuclear-localized U1-70K-mCherry was used to label transformed cells ( Liu et al., 2019 ). Yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) signals appeared in the nucleus of cells containing MdBT2-cYFP + nYFP-MdCOP1, but not in the negative controls (MdBT2-cYFP + MdERF3-nYFP and nYFP-MdCOP1 + MdERF3-cYFP), suggesting that the MdBT2–MdCOP1 interaction occurred in the nucleus ( Figure 2C ).

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MdBT2 interacts with MdCOP1. A, The interaction between MdBT2 and MdCOP1 was detected by GST pull-down assays. The GST protein or GST-MdBT2 protein was incubated with His-MdCOP1 protein, respectively. IB, immunoblotted. B, Co-IP assays were carried out to test the interaction between MdBT2 and MdCOP1 using 35S::Myc-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2-GFP and 35S::Myc-MdCOP1/35S::GFP transgenic apple calli. C, BiFC assays were used to confirm the interaction between MdBT2-cYFP and nYFP-MdCOP1 in N. benthamiana epidermal cells. MdBT2-cYFP + nYFP-MdERF3 and MdERF3-cYFP + nYFP-MdCOP1 served as negative controls. Nuclear-localized U1-70K-mCherry was used to label transformed cells. Ninety RFP-positive cells for every BiFC combination were from three independent biological replicates. Numbers at the bottom indicate displayed/transformed cells. Scale bars = 20 μm. D and E, The diagram of different domains in MdBT2 (D) and MdCOP1 (E). F, Y2H analysis was performed on full-length and fragments of MdBT2 (BD) and MdCOP1 (AD).

We additionally performed Y2H assays to examine the domains critical to the interaction between MdBT2 and MdCOP1. MdBT2 contains an N-terminal BTB domain, a BACK-like domain, and a C-terminal TAZ domain ( Figure 2D ). MdCOP1 consists of a RING-finger motif, a coiled-coil domain, and WD40 repeats ( Figure 2E ). Full length and truncated MdBT2 and MdCOP1 sequences were inserted into BD and AD vectors. The BACK-like domain of MdBT2 was found to interact with the coiled-coil domain of MdCOP1, although an interaction between full-length MdBT2 and MdCOP1 was not detected. The BTB and TAZ domains strengthened the interaction between the BACK-like domain of MdBT2 and MdCOP1 ( Figure 2F ). These results indicated that the BACK-like domain of MdBT2 and the coiled-coil domain of MdCOP1 are necessary for the MdBT2–MdCOP1 interaction, and the BTB and TAZ domains supported and strengthened the interaction. The other four BTB-TAZ proteins in apple were also tested for interactions with MdCOP1. MdBT1 interacted with the coiled-coil domain of MdCOP1, but not of MdBT3.1, MdBT3.2, or MdBT4 ( Supplemental Figure S5 ).

MdBT2 stabilizes MdCOP1

MdCOP1 is an E3 ligase that promotes the degradation of target proteins ( Li et al., 2012 ). Cell-free degradation assays were performed to examine whether MdCOP1 affects the stability of MdBT2. Recombinant His-MdBT2 was incubated with extract from wild-type (WT), the MdCOP1-OX , and MdCOP1-anti transgenic calli. The results showed that rates of His-MdBT2 degradation were similar among the three calli types ( Supplemental Figure S6 ), demonstrating that MdBT2 was not the substrate of MdCOP1. Next, we examined whether MdBT2 affected MdCOP1 stability in the same way. Compared with WT, the degradation rate of His-MdCOP1 was slower in the MdBT2-OX extract and faster in the MdBT2-anti extract ( Figure 3, A and C ), indicating that MdBT2 stabilized MdCOP1 in vitro. However, the degradation of His-MdCOP1 was restrained by the proteasome inhibitor MG132 ( Figure 3, B and D ), suggesting that MdCOP1 may be degraded through a 26S proteasome pathway. To further verify that MdBT2 promoted the abundance of MdCOP1 protein in vivo, we obtained the double transgenic calli Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX and Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti from the single transgenic calli Myc-MdCOP1 ( Supplemental Figure S7 ). In contrast with Myc-MdCOP1 , Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX accumulated more Myc-MdCOP1, whereas Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti accumulated less ( Figure 3E ). Moreover, the degradation of Myc-MdCOP1 in the MdBT2-anti context was inhibited by addition of MG132, as was observed in the cell-free degradation assay ( Figure 3F ). In summary, MdBT2 stabilized MdCOP1 both in vitro and in vivo.

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MdBT2 stabilizes MdCOP1. A, B, MdBT2 promotes the stability of MdCOP1 protein in vitro. The purified His-MdCOP1 protein was incubated with total proteins of WT, the MdBT2-OX and MdBT2-anti transgenic calli treated with DMSO or MG132. The samples were harvested at the denoted time and detected using anti-His antibody. C and D, the abundance of MdCOP1 protein in (A and B) was quantified by Tanon GIS Analysis Software. Results are shown as mean ± se , based on three independent biological replicates. E and F, MdBT2 promotes the stability of MdCOP1 protein in vivo . The Myc-MdCOP1 protein in WT, the MdBT2-OX and MdBT2-anti transgenic calli was harvested after CHX treatment with DMSO or MG132. The Myc-MdCOP1 protein was detected with anti-Myc antibody. Results are shown as means of three independent biological replicates.

MdBT2 restrains MdCOP1 self-ubiquitination

MdBT2 promotes MdCOP1 abundance, which may be due to the inhibition of MdCOP1 degradation. Because MdCOP1 is self-ubiquitinated ( Seo et al., 2003 ; Xu et al., 2014 ), in vitro ubiquitination assays were conducted to explore whether MdBT2 affected the self-ubiquitination of MdCOP1. Consistent with previous reports, the self-ubiquitination activity of MdCOP1 was dependent on Zn 2+ ( Figure 4A , lanes 1 and 2). Noticeably, the amount of ubiquitinated MdCOP1 protein was not affected by GST, but decreased dramatically when GST-MdBT2 was added to the reaction ( Figure 4A , lanes 3 and 4). This result indicated that MdBT2 may inhibit the auto-ubiquitination of MdCOP1. To further verify MdBT2-inhibited auto-ubiquitination of MdCOP1 in vivo, the ubiquitination assays were performed using the Myc-MdCOP1 , Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX , and Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti calli. Immunoblotting with anti-Ubi and anti-Myc antibodies showed that the abundance of polyubiquitinated Myc-MdCOP1 protein was greater in Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti than in Myc-MdCOP1 , but lower in Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX ( Figure 4B ). We also examined endogenous MdCOP1 protein content in MdBT2 transgenic plants. A specific polyclonal MdCOP1 antibody was customized for this purpose ( Supplemental Figure S8 ). Compared with GL-3, the MdBT2-OX#1/5/7 lines accumulated more MdCOP1, but the MdBT2-anti#2/13/23 lines accumulated less; furthermore, the effect was substantially stronger in the dark than in the light ( Figure 4, C and D ). These results suggested that MdBT2 inhibited MdCOP1 self-ubiquitination, stabilizing the protein.

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MdBT2 restrains MdCOP1 self-ubiquitination. A, In vitro ubiquitination assays were performed to test the ubiquitination of MdCOP1 using E1, E2, and ubiquitin. His-MdCOP1 (–Zn) and GST were used as controls. Ubiquitinated His-MdCOP1 protein was detected with anti-His and anti-Ubi antibodies. B, In vivo ubiquitination assays were performed in the Myc-MdCOP1 , Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX , and Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti calli. The anti-Myc and anti-Ubi antibodies were used to detect Myc-MdCOP1 protein. IP, immuno-precipitated; IB, immunoblotted. C and D, the abundance of MdCOP1 protein in MdBT2 transgenic plantlets was examined after 12 h in dark (C) and light (D). MdCOP1 protein was detected with anti-MdCOP1 antibody. Actin was used as the loading control. Results are shown as means of three independent biological replicates.

MdBT2 enhances nuclear accumulation of MdCOP1

COP1 shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm, and when plants are exposed to light, COP1 is transferred from the nucleus to the cytoplasm ( Han et al., 2020 ). Because the MdBT2–MdCOP1 interaction occurred in the nucleus and MdBT2 stabilized MdCOP1, we detected the effect of MdBT2 on the nucleo-cytoplasmic distribution of MdCOP1. GFP-MdCOP1 and GFP-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2 were injected into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, and GFP signals in epidermal cell nuclei were observed after 1 day of either dark or light treatment. GFP-MdCOP1 was observed in the nucleus, and the signal intensity was clearly higher in plants grown in the dark than in the light ( Figure 5, A and B ). The fluorescence intensity of GFP-MdCOP1 in GFP-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2 was higher than in GFP-MdCOP1 alone, especially in the dark ( Figure 5, A and B ), suggesting that MdBT2 enhanced nuclear accumulation of MdCOP1.

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MdBT2 enhances nuclear accumulation of MdCOP1. A and B, representative CLSM images (A) and GFP intensities (B) of GFP-MdCOP1 protein in the nucleus of N. benthamiana epidermal cells. The N. benthamiana leaves injected with GFP-MdCOP1 and GFP-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2 were treated in the light or dark for 1 day, respectively. Ninety cells for every combination were from three independent biological replicates. The fluorescence intensity of GFP-MdCOP1 under the dark was set to 1.00. Results shown are mean ± se . Different letters represent significant differences (LSD test, P < 0.05). Scale bars = 2 μm. C and D, cell fractionation assays were performed to detect the abundance of Myc-MdCOP1 protein in the WT, the MdBT2-OX and MdBT2-anti calli. The calli were treated with darkness (C) and light (D) for 12 h. N, nuclear protein; S, soluble fraction, cytoplasmic protein. Histone3 and Actin were used for nuclei and cytoplasmic protein markers. The Myc-MdCOP1 protein content in the nucleus of the WT was set to 1.00. Values are means of three independent biological experiments. Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t test: * P < 0.05.

We also performed nucleo-cytoplasmic separation assays using the Myc-MdCOP1 , Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX , and Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti calli, which were treated under dark and light conditions for 12 h. Anti-Myc antibody was used to detect levels of Myc-MdCOP1 in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Actin and Histone3 antibodies were used as cytoplasmic and nuclear protein markers, respectively. As in previous reports, Myc-MdCOP1 was mostly present in the nucleus in calli grown in the dark, and in the cytoplasm in calli grown in the light ( Figure 5, C and D ; Supplemental Figures S9 and S10 ). Myc-MdCOP1 levels in the cytoplasm of the three calli did not significantly differ between those grown in the dark compared to the light, but there was a significant difference in nuclear levels of Myc-MdCOP1. Compared with Myc-MdCOP1 , levels of Myc-MdCOP1 in the nucleus were higher in Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-OX but lower in Myc-MdCOP1/MdBT2-anti ; the effect was stronger in calli grown in the dark than in the light ( Figure 5, C and D ; Supplemental Figures S9 and S10 ). These results illustrated that MdBT2 enhanced nuclear accumulation of MdCOP1, especially in the dark.

MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis in an MdCOP1-dependent manner

Because MdBT2 and MdCOP1 both negatively regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis and MdBT2 enhances MdCOP1 protein accumulation in the nucleus, we speculated that MdBT2 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis through an MdCOP1-mediated pathway. To test this hypothesis, we carried out several phenotypic experiments. First, MdCOP1 was transiently overexpressed or suppressed in MdBT2 transgenic seedling leaves using a viral vector-mediated transient expression method. MdCOP1 was suppressed and anthocyanin content was increased after injection of TRV-MdCOP1 , whereas MdCOP1 was upregulated and anthocyanin content was reduced after injection of pIR-MdCOP1 . After injection of TRV-MdCOP1 in the MdBT2-OX#5 leaves, anthocyanin content was increased, as with TRV-MdCOP1 ; after injection of pIR-MdCOP1 in the MdBT2-anti#13 leaves, anthocyanin content was reduced, consistent with pIR-MdCOP1 ( Figure 6, A–C ). Moreover, the abundance of endogenous MdMYB1 was increased after injection of TRV-MdCOP1 and reduced after injection with pIR-MdCOP1 ( Figure 6D ). This result preliminarily indicated that MdBT2 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis through MdCOP1.

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MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis in an MdCOP1-dependent manner in apple leaves. A and C, the phenotype (A) and anthocyanin content (C) of apple leaves overexpressing MdCOP1 ( pIR-MdCOP1 ) and suppressing MdCOP1 ( TRV-MdCOP1 ). The injected leaves were placed under white light supplemented with UV-B for 5–7 days. B and D, the transcription level of MdCOP1 (B) and the protein content of MdMYB1 (D) in apple leaves overexpressing MdCOP1 ( pIR-MdCOP1 ) and suppressing MdCOP1 ( TRV-MdCOP1 ). Empty pIR and TRV vectors were used as controls. Actin was used as the loading control. Results shown are mean ± se , based on three independent biological replicates. Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t test: n.s., P > 0.05; * P < 0.05.

Subsequently, a series of MdCOP1 and MdBT2 transgenic apple calli were employed to measure anthocyanin content. Compared with the WT, anthocyanin content was higher in the MdCOP1-anti calli and lower in the MdBT2-OX calli. When MdCOP1 was suppressed in the MdBT2-OX context, anthocyanin content was increased, similar to results in the MdCOP1-anti calli ( Supplemental Figure S11, A and B ). Transcript levels of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes MdDFR , MdUFGT , MdF3H , and MdCHS showed a positive relationship with anthocyanin content ( Supplemental Figure S11C ). Although transcript levels of MdMYB1 were not significantly different, MdMYB1 content in the MdBT2-OX/MdCOP1-anti calli was approximately three times higher than in the MdBT2-OX calli, resembling the MdCOP1-anti calli ( Supplemental Figure S11D ). Moreover, when MdCOP1 was overexpressed in the MdBT2-anti context, anthocyanin content was lower than in the MdBT2-anti calli, similar to levels in the MdCOP1-OX calli ( Supplemental Figure S11, E and F ). The expression of MdDFR , MdUFGT , MdF3H , MdCHS , and MdMYB1 protein abundance were all positively correlated with anthocyanin content ( Supplemental Figure S11, G and H ). These results illustrated that MdBT2 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis through an MdCOP1-mediated pathway in apple calli.

We also examined the effect of MdBT2 and MdCOP1 on fruit coloration using viral vector-mediated transient expression on apple fruit peel. Transcript levels of MdBT2 were higher after infiltration with pIR-MdBT2 but reduced after infiltration with TRV-MdBT2 . Transcript levels of MdCOP1 were higher after infiltration with pIR-MdCOP1 but reduced after infiltration with TRV-MdCOP1 ( Supplemental Figure S12, A and B ). Compared to the empty vector controls, the overexpression of MdBT2 and MdCOP1 inhibited anthocyanin accumulation, whereas the suppression of MdBT2 and MdCOP1 promoted anthocyanin accumulation around the injection sites ( Figure 7, A and B ). Anthocyanin levels in the pIR-MdBT2/TRV-MdCOP1 co-injected sites were similar to those in TRV-MdCOP1 , whereas anthocyanin levels in the TRV-MdBT2/pIR-MdCOP1 co-injected sites were close to those seen in pIR-MdCOP1 ( Figure 7, A and B ). This demonstrated that MdCOP1 is epistatic to MdBT2 . The overexpression and suppression of MdBT2 and MdCOP1 correspondingly downregulated and upregulated the expression of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes MdDFR , MdUFGT , MdF3H , and MdCHS , but not MdMYB1 ( Supplemental Figure S12, C–G ). However, the endogenous MdMYB1 protein levels in the injected sites showed substantial differences between treatments and were positively associated with anthocyanin content ( Figure 7C ). These results indicated that MdBT2 inhibited anthocyanin biosynthesis through MdCOP1 in apple fruits.

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MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis in an MdCOP1-dependent manner in apple fruits. A, representative images of the apple fruit peel coloration around the injection sites. The injected apples were placed under white light supplemented with UV-B for 5–7 days to accumulate anthocyanin. Empty pIR and TRV vectors were used as controls. B, the anthocyanin content in the injected apple fruit peel. C, the abundance of MdMYB1 protein in the injected peel was detected with anti-MdMYB1 antibody. Actin was used as the loading control. Results are shown as mean ± se , based on three independent biological experiments. Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t test: n.s., P > 0.05; * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01.

COP1 plays a pivotal role in light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis by promoting the degradation of downstream targets, such as HY5 and PAP1/2 in Arabidopsis ( Osterlund et al., 2000 ; Maier et al., 2013 ), MdMYB1 in apple ( Li et al., 2012 ), and PpbHLH64 in pear ( Tao et al., 2020 ). Here, we identified a positive factor of MdCOP1, the BTB protein MdBT2 in apple. MdBT2 directly interacted with MdCOP1 and stabilized MdCOP1, possibly by inhibiting MdCOP1 auto-ubiquitination ( Figures 2–5 ). Generally, BTB proteins act as adaptors that recruit target proteins to the CRL3 complex for its ubiquitination and degradation, and CUL3 protein is essential for the degradation of target proteins ( Hua and Vierstra, 2011 ). In Arabidopsis, the light-responsive BTB proteins depend on CRL3 complex to mediate the ubiquitination and degradation of PIF3 and phyB ( Ni et al., 2014 ), and CRY2 ( Chen et al., 2021 ). Interestingly, Wang et al. (2018) found that MdBT2 regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple by interacting with MdMYB1 and mediating its ubiquitination and degradation. But MdCUL3 had no effect on MdMYB1 protein abundance and anthocyanin biosynthesis, suggesting that CRL3 complex was not essential for MdBT2-modulated degradation of MdMYB1. Moreover, recent findings indicated that MdBT2 participates in malate accumulation, nitrogen usage, and plant growth by modulating the ubiquitination and degradation of MdCIbHLH1 ( Zhang et al., 2020 ), MdMYB88/MdMYB124 ( Zhang et al., 2021 ), and MdRGL3a ( Ren et al., 2021 ), possibly in an MdCUL3-independent pathway. It was speculated that MdBT2 may act as a scaffold protein that bridges unknown ubiquitin E3 ligases and target proteins such as MdMYB1, mediating the ubiquitination and degradation of target proteins. Coincidentally, our results suggested that MdCOP1 is one of those E3 ligases. Based on our data and previous reports, we propose a simple model. MdBT2 interacts with MdCOP1 and MdMYB1, and promotes the abundance of MdCOP1 protein in the nucleus, thus enhances MdCOP1-mediated ubiquitination and 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of MdMYB1, thereby reducing transcription of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes and inhibiting anthocyanin accumulation and fruit coloration in apple ( Figure 8 ).

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A proposed model of anthocyanin biosynthesis regulation by MdBT2–MdCOP1–MdMYB1 in apple. MdBT2 interacts with MdCOP1 and MdMYB1, and promotes the abundance of MdCOP1 protein in the nucleus, thus enhances MdCOP1-mediated ubiquitination and 26S proteasome-mediated degradation of MdMYB1, thereby reducing transcription of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes and inhibiting anthocyanin accumulation and fruit coloration in apple.

COP1 acts as a central repressor of light signaling, and the protein abundance, E3 activity and subcellular localization of COP1 are precisely controlled. FIN219 reduces nuclear accumulation of COP1 by excluding COP1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in the dark ( Wang et al., 2011 ). The RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase CSU1 negatively regulates COP1 protein accumulation in the nucleus under dark conditions ( Xu et al., 2014 ). Our results showed that MdBT2 directly interacted with MdCOP1 and promoted MdCOP1 protein abundance in the nucleus, especially in the dark ( Figures 2–5 ). The mechanism of negative regulation of COP1 protein abundance by FIN219 and CSU1 has been reported in the model plant Arabidopsis, and it is speculated that homologs of FIN219 and CSU1 in apple may also negatively regulate MdCOP1 abundance. When MdBT2 was overexpressed in the context of partial silencing of MdCOP1 , the effect of MdBT2 on MdCOP1 was weakened; protein levels of MdCOP1 decreased, resulting in increased anthocyanin content, which may explain why MdBT2-OX had no effect on anthocyanin levels when MdCOP1 was partially silenced ( Figure 6 ).

In addition to ubiquitination, phosphorylation modifications also modulate COP1 at the post-translational level. A recent study found that the Ser/Thr kinase PINOID (PID) directly phosphorylated COP1 at Ser20 and repressed COP1 activity to tightly modulate seedling photomorphogenesis ( Lin et al., 2017 ). However, COP1 phosphorylation did not affect protein abundance or nucleo-cytoplasmic localization ( Lin et al., 2017 ). Interestingly, BT1/2 proteins interact with PID through their BTB domains, and in vitro phosphorylation assays indicated that BT1/2 repressed PID activity ( Robert, 2008 ), implying that MdBT2 may also inhibit MdPID kinase activity in apple. Combined with our results, those findings suggest that MdBT2 may positively regulates MdCOP1 to repress anthocyanin biosynthesis in two ways. First, MdBT2 promotes MdCOP1 protein accumulation in the nucleus ( Figures 2–5 ); second, MdBT2 may inhibit MdCOP1 phosphorylation by repressing MdPID kinase activity, thus enhance MdCOP1 ubiquitin ligase activity; however, this remains to be elucidated.

In response to light and darkness, COP1 shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm. In the dark, COP1 is localized to the nucleus and destabilizes target proteins to inhibit anthocyanin biosynthesis; under light conditions, COP1 is rapidly translocated to the cytoplasm, but a small amount remains in the nucleus ( Pacín et al., 2014 ). MdBT2, an MdCOP1-interacting protein, was transcriptionally induced by darkness and inhibited by light ( Wang et al., 2018 ). Our results showed that MdBT2 promoted MdCOP1 protein accumulation in the nucleus, and the effect was noticeably weaker in the light than in the dark ( Figure 5 ). Therefore, MdBT2 may be involved in light-mediated regulation of MdCOP1 as follows: under dark conditions, MdBT2 stabilizes MdCOP1 in the nucleus; under light condition, as MdBT2 decreases, MdCOP1 is largely transferred out of the nucleus, preventing the ubiquitination and degradation of MdMYB1, thereby enabling light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis.

The biosynthesis of anthocyanin is affected by multiple factors, such as light, low nitrogen levels, drought, temperature, ABA, and ethylene ( Allan and Espley, 2018 ; Gao et al., 2021 ). MdBT2 is also an important protein in respond to various environmental and hormonal signals, including nitrogen deficiency, drought, low temperature, wounding, and ABA ( An et al., 2020 ). Our results show that MdBT2 promoted MdCOP1-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of MdMYB1, inhibiting the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes and anthocyanin accumulation ( Figure 8 ). Therefore, MdBT2–MdCOP1 may act as a central component in response to various hormonal and environmental signals, allowing plants to adjust the rate of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Overall, our findings provide a molecular basis for regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis, and a possible strategy for improvement of apple fruit appearance through genetic engineering.

Materials and methods

Plant materials and growth conditions.

The “GL-3” cultures and transgenic apple ( Malus domestica ) plantlets were grown on MS medium containing 0.2 mg L −1 NAA, 0.6 mg L −1 6-BA, and 0.2 mg L −1 GA at 25°C for 1 month under long-day conditions (16 h/8 h; Dai et al., 2013 ). The “Orin” apple calli were subcultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg L −1 2,4-D and 0.4 mg L −1 6-BA at 25°C for 15 days in the dark.

Twenty-day old apple culture seedlings and 15-day-old apple calli were selected for light and dark treatment and anthocyanin accumulation assays. The apple fruits were collected from mature trees of cultivar “Red Delicious” grown in commercial orchard of Tai-An City. Fruits were bagged at 35 days after blooming (DAB), and the bagged fruits were harvested at 140 DAB and de-bagged before injection.

Vector construction and plant transformation

To construct the plasmid of 35S::MdBT2-OX and 35S::MdBT2-anti , the full-length sequence and the specific 200–300 bp sequence (for anti-sense) of MdBT2 were inserted into pCXSN vector. The full-length sequences of MdCOP1 and MdMYB1 were linked with pRI101 vector to construct 35S::MdCOP1-OX and 35S::MdMYB1-OX ; while the specific 200–300 bp sequences of MdCOP1 and MdMYB1 were reversely linked with pRI101 vector to construct 35S::MdCOP1-anti and 35S::MdMYB1-anti . Fluorescent-tagged plasmids were constructed by the Gateway technology (Invitrogen). Entry vectors were generated using pENTR/SD/D-TOPO vector (Invitrogen). The full-length sequences of MdBT2 and MdERF3 were introduced into 35S::GW-GFP vector, named as 35S::MdBT2-GFP and 35S::MdERF3-GFP . The full-length sequence of MdCOP1 were introduced into 35S::GFP-GW vector, named as 35S::GFP-MdCOP1 . The sequence of Myc tag was added to the forward primer to amplify the full-length sequence of MdCOP1 and ligated to 35S::RFP-GW vector to form 35S::RFP-Myc-MdCOP1 ( 35S::Myc-MdCOP1 ). The primers used are shown in Supplemental Table S1 . The Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation for apple plantlet and calli were described in Wang et al. (2018) . The transgenic lines were selected on MS medium contained 30 mg L −1 kanamycin or 15 mg L −1 hygromycin B or 15 mg L −1 Basta.

RNA extraction and RT-qPCR analysis

Total RNA was extracted from plant materials using RNA Plus Reagent (Tiangen) and TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen) according to the corresponding instructions. Reverse transcription assay was performed by the PrimeScript first-strand cDNA synthesis kit (Takara). UltraSYBR Mixture (CWBIO) in an ABI Step One Plus system was used to perform quantitative PCR. RT–qPCR assay was carried out by three independent biological and three technical replicates. 2 –ΔΔCt method was applied to calculate relative expression. MdActin acts as the internal reference gene. The specific primers are listed in Supplemental Table S1 .

Protein extraction and western blotting

Total proteins of plant materials were extracted with a protein extraction buffer that contained 100-mM Tris–HCl (pH 8.0), 1-mM EDTA, 1% (w/v) PVP, 10-mM β-mercaptoethanol, and 0.2-M sucrose. Nuclear protein was isolated using the Plant Nuclei Isolation/Extraction Kit (Sigma) following the manufacturer’s instructions. Protein extracts were separated on the 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) gel and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes using an electrotransfer apparatus (Bio-Rad). MdMYB1 and MdCOP1 antibodies were customized at Abmart company (Shanghai, China). According to the epitope score of sequence, the NFPEGQSRSEFS (220–231aa) motif of MdMYB1 and the NQPYSQQERDKS (301–312 aa) motif of MdCOP1 were selected to prepare anti-peptide polyclonal antibodies for MdMYB1 and MdCOP1 proteins, respectively. The membranes were incubated with primary antibodies (Abmart) and then secondary antibodies (Abmart) before visualization of immunoreactive proteins using an ECL Detection Kit (Millipore).

Y2H screening and assay

The full-length coding sequence of MdCOP1 was cloned into the bait vector pGBT9 (BD) by the EcoRI and BamHI double sites. The apple cDNA library was obtained from the apple skin and was constructed by Oebiotech Company (Shanghai, China). Y2H screening was performed according to the yeast transformation system (Clontech) and screened on yeast dropout medium lacking Trp, Leu, His, and Ade (–W/–L/–H/–A).

The full-length sequence and the truncated sequences of MdCOP1 were inserted into pGAD424 (AD) by EcoRI and BamHI. The full-length sequence and the truncated sequences of MdBT2 were inserted into pGBT9 by EcoRI and PstI. The full-length sequence of MdERF3 was ligated to pGAD424 by EcoRI and SalI. The yeast was detected on –W/–L medium and then –W/–L/–H/–A medium. The primers used are shown in Supplemental Table S1 .

Pull-down assay

To construct the His-MdCOP1 plasmid, the full-length coding sequence of MdCOP1 was introduced into pET-32a by EcoRI and SalI. To construct the GST-MdBT2 plasmid, the full-length coding sequence of MdBT2 was introduced into pGEX-4T-1 by EcoRI and XhoI. The recombinant plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (Transgen) and induced with 0.1-mM isopropyl β- d -1-thiogalactopyranoside for 6 h at 37°C to obtain His-MdCOP1 and GST-MdBT2 fusion proteins, respectively. The pull-down assay was performed according to the instructions of the Pierce GST Spin Purification Kit (Thermo). The samples were detected by western blotting with anti-His and anti-GST antibodies (Abmart).

Co-IP assay

Co-IP assay in vivo was performed with the Pierce Classic IP Kit (Thermo). The 35S::Myc-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2-GFP and 35S::Myc-MdCOP1/35S::GFP transgenic calli were used to test the interaction of MdBT2 and MdCOP1. Briefly, the anti-GFP antibody were used to immunoprecipitate MdBT2-GFP protein by IP lysis/wash buffer (25-mM Tris, 0.15-M NaCl, 1-mM EDTA, 1% NP-40, 5% glycerol, pH 7.4). A 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel eletrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) analysis was performed with anti-GFP and anti-Myc antibodies to detect MdBT2-GFP and Myc-MdCOP1, respectively.

BiFC assay and transient expression in N. benthamiana leaves

The plasmids for BiFC assay were generated using the Gateway technology (Invitrogen). The full-length sequences of MdCOP1 and MdBT2 were cloned into pENTR/SD/D-TOPO vector (Invitrogen). Expression vectors were generated by LR reaction using LR Clonase II (Invitrogen). MdCOP1 and MdBT2 were introduced into 35S::nYFP-GW and 35S::GW-cYFP , named as nYFP-MdCOP1 and MdBT2-cYFP . MdERF3 was introduced into 35S::GW-nYFP and 35S::GW-cYFP , named as MdERF3-nYFP and MdERF3-cYFP . The plasmids were transformed into Agrobacterium GV3101. Nuclear-localized U1-70K-mCherry was used to label transformed cells. The N. benthamiana leaves were transiently co-transformed with different combinations and grown in the dark at 25°C for 2 days. The fluorescence signals were detected using a two-photon laser confocal microscope (Zeiss LSM 880) with the excitation and emission wavelengths set to 488 nm/505–550 nm for YFP signals and 561 nm/600 nm for RFP signals. Ninety RFP-positive cells for every BiFC combination were from three independent biological replicates.

Nicotiana benthamiana leaves transiently transformed with GFP-MdCOP1 and GFP-MdCOP1/35S::MdBT2 were pretreated in the dark for 1 day, and treated in the dark and light for 1 day, respectively. The fluorescence signals were detected using LSM 880 with the excitation and emission wavelengths set to 488 nm/505–550 nm for GFP signals and 405 nm/450 nm for DAPI signals. The GFP gain value was fixed at 600. The fluorescence intensity of each spot in the nucleus was quantified by ImageJ and summed to obtain the fluorescence intensity of each nucleus. 90 cells for every combination were from three independent biological replicates.

Cell-free degradation assay

Total proteins were extracted in degradation buffer containing 25-mM Tris–HCl (pH 7.5), 10-mM NaCl, 10-mM MgCl 2 , 4-mM PMSF, 5-mM DTT, and 10-mM ATP. Each reaction contained 500 mg of total proteins and 100 ng of His-MdCOP1 or His-MdBT2 protein. For the proteasome inhibitor treatments, 50-µM MG132 was added 30 min before extraction. The reaction mix were incubated at 22°C for different times and stopped by the addition of SDS–PAGE loading buffer. The His-MdCOP1 and His-MdBT2 proteins were detected with anti-His antibody, and the protein abundance were quantified using GIS 1D Analysis Software (Tanon).

In vitro ubiquitination assay

In vitro ubiquitination assay reaction mixtures (60 μL) contained 30 ng of UBE1 (E1; Boston Biochem), 30 ng of UbcH5b (E2; Boston Biochem), 10 μg of ubiquitin (Ubi; Boston Biochem), 500 ng of His-MdCOP1 (previously incubated with 20-μM zinc acetate), and 500 ng of GST-MdBT2 in reaction buffer containing 50-mM Tris–HCl (pH 7.5), 10-mM MgCl 2 , 10-mM ATP, and 2-mM DTT. The His-MdCOP1 protein that had not been incubated with zinc acetate was used as a negative control. After 2 h of incubation at 30°C, the reactions were stopped by adding loading buffer. Ubiquitinated His-MdCOP1 protein was detected using anti-ubiquitin (Sigma) and anti-His (Abmart) antibodies, respectively.

Determination of the total anthocyanin content

Twenty-day-old apple culture plantlets and 15-day-old apple calli were treated on medium with low nitrogen (0.2-mmolâ¸±L −1 nitrate) at 17°C under continuous white light with UV-B for 1 week to accumulate anthocyanin. Approximately 0.1 g materials were soaked and incubated in 1-mL extraction buffer (95% ethanol:1.5M HCl = 85:15, v/v) at room temperature. The absorbances were measured at 530, 620, and 650 nm: OD λ = (A 530 − A 620 ) − 0.1 (A 650 − A 620 ). The content of anthocyanin was quantified by the following formula: OD λ /ξ λ ×V/m × 10 6 (nmol/g; V: volume; m: weight; ξ λ : 4.62 × 10 4 ).

Viral vector-based transient expression in apple fruit and leaves

The viral vectors pIR and TRV were used for transient expression ( Ratcliff et al., 2001 ; Peretz et al., 2007 ). The plasmids were constructed using the double restriction enzyme method. The primers used are shown in Supplemental Table S1 . To construct the overexpression plasmids, the full-length sequences of MdMYB1 , MdCOP1 , and MdBT2 were inserted into pIR vector, named as pIR-MdMYB1 , pIR-MdCOP1 , and pIR-MdBT2 . To generate the antisense expression plasmids, the specific fragments of MdMYB1 , MdCOP1 , and MdBT2 were inserted into TRV vector in the antisense orientation, named as TRV-MdMYB1 , TRV-MdCOP1 , and TRV-MdBT2 . The antisense expression plasmids were transformed into Agrobacterium GV3101. Fruits and leaves infiltrations were performed as previously described (Kang et al., 2020 , 2021 ). The pIR and TRV empty vectors served as controls. Each experiment required at least 60 leaves or fruits through three independent biological replicates. The injected materials were kept overnight in the dark and then treated with continuous white light supplemental with UV-B at 17°C for 5–7 days. The materials were then harvested for gene expression analysis and anthocyanin content determination.

Accession numbers

Sequence data from this article can be found in the Genome Database for Rosaceae (GDR; https://www.rosaceae.org ) data libraries under accession numbers MdBT1 (MDP0000151000), MdBT2 (MDP0000643281), MdBT3.1 (MDP0000296225), MdBT3.2 (MDP0000187156), MdBT4 (MDP0000215415), MdCOP1 (MDP0000245133), MdMYB1 (MDP0000259614), MdERF3 (MDP0000787281), MdDFR (MDP0000494976), MdUFGT (MDP0000405936), MdF3H (MDP0000323864), and MdCHS (MDP0000686666).

Supplemental data

The following materials are available in the online version of this article.

Supplemental Figure S1 . Relative expression of MdBT2, MdMYB1 , and anthocyanin biosynthetic genes in MdBT2 transgenic apple plantlets.

Supplemental Figure S2 . Identification of the specificity of polyclonal MdMYB1 antibody.

Supplemental Figure S3 . The complete blot of Figure 1G .

Supplemental Figure S4 . The interaction of MdERF3 with MdBT2 and MdCOP1, and subcellular localization of MdERF3.

Supplemental Figure S5 . Y2H assay of the interaction between MdBTs and MdCOP1.

Supplemental Figure S6 . MdBT2 is not the target of MdCOP1.

Supplemental Figure S7 . Expression level of MdBT2 and MdCOP1 in the transgenic apple calli.

Supplemental Figure S8 . Identification of the specificity of polyclonal MdCOP1 antibody.

Supplemental Figure S9 . The western blots and quantification of three independent biological replicates of Figure 5C .

Supplemental Figure S10 . The western blots and quantification of three independent biological replicates of Figure 5D .

Supplemental Figure S11 . MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis in an MdCOP1-dependent manner in apple calli.

Supplemental Figure S12 . Relative expression of MdBT2 , MdCOP1 , MdMYB1 , and anthocyanin biosynthetic genes in the injected apple fruit.

Supplemental Table S1 . The primers used in this study.

Supplementary Material

Kiac279_supplementary_data, acknowledgments.

We sincerely thank our team leader Dr Yu-Jin Hao. He will be remembered for his great achievement and for the support and help in our work. We also thank Prof. Zhi-Hong Zhang from Shenyang Agricultural University, China, for providing “GL-3” apple seedlings; Prof. Yan Zhang and Prof. Sha Li from Shandong Agricultural University, China, for providing Gateway vectors and nuclear-localized U1-70K-mCherry marker, and Prof. Ilan Sela from Hebrew University, Israel, for providing TRV and pIR binary vectors.

This work was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFD1000200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31972378), Ministry of Agriculture of China (CARS-27), and open funds of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement (ZW202008).

Conflict of interest statement . The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Contributor Information

Hui Kang, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China. State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yang-Ling, Shaanxi 712100, China.

Ting-Ting Zhang, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.

Yuan-Yuan Li, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.

Kui Lin-Wang, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mt. Albert, Auckland 92169, New Zealand.

Richard V Espley, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mt. Albert, Auckland 92169, New Zealand.

Yuan-Peng Du, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.

Qing-Mei Guan, State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yang-Ling, Shaanxi 712100, China.

Feng-Wang Ma, State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yang-Ling, Shaanxi 712100, China.

Yu-Jin Hao, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.

Chun-Xiang You, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.

Xiao-Fei Wang, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.

X.-F.W., Y.-J.H., and H.K. designed the experiment; H.K. performed most of the experiments; T.-T.Z., Y.-Y.L., and Y.-P.D. provided technical assistance; K.L-W., R.V.E., Q.-M.G., and F.-W.M. provided professional advice; H.K., X.-F.W., and C.-X.Y. analyzed the data and wrote the article.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors ( https://academic.oup.com/plphys/pages/general-instructions ) is: Xiao-Fei Wang ( moc.361@4002gnawfx ).

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Smoke alarm at Mount Albert Plant and Food Research facility prompts emergency services hazmat response, fears of chemical incident

Benjamin Plummer

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Emergency services responded to an incident that was believed to involve chemicals in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert this afternoon.

Police said they were assisting Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) with an incident on Mount Albert Rd, which was reported to Police around 12.45pm.

A photo from a Herald reporter at the scene showed the Fenz Hazmat command unit outside the Plant and Food Research facility.

Police were earlier assisting FENZ with an incident on Mount Albert Rd at Plant and Food Research today. Photo / Nicholas Jones

Fenz told the Herald crews were alerted through a fire alarm activation, and the incident was believed to involve chemicals.

Six pumps, three aerials and three specialist appliances were in attendance, said Fenz.

A Herald reporter said there were four fire trucks and the hazmat truck on site.

A spokesperson for the Plant and Food Research facility said a smoke detector in a lab at their Mt Albert research centre was activated earlier today, triggering an evacuation.

“Fire and Emergency NZ attended the site and investigated the event as per their normal procedures”.

“It is not known what triggered the alarm, however, FENZ have confirmed [there was] no risk to people or property and the site had been returned to Plant and Food Research for entry,” they said.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson confirmed they had earlier dispatched an ambulance to the scene alongside one rapid response vehicle and one operations manager.

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.

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Emergency services respond to incident near Auckland plant and food research facility

There were four fire trucks and the hazmat truck on site. Photo / Nicholas Jones

Emergency services are responding to an “active and ongoing” incident in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert.

Police said they are assisting Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) with an incident on Mount Albert Rd, which was reported to Police around 12.45pm.

A photo from a Herald reporter at the scene shows the Fenz Hazmat command unit outside the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) plant and food research facility.

A Herald reporter said there were four fire trucks and the hazmat truck and on site.

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said: “This is an active and ongoing incident ... and we currently have one rapid response vehicle and one operations manager on the scene.”

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At Plant & Food Research, we believe science can create a better future. By finding smarter, greener options today, we're helping secure the world we want to live in tomorrow. ... Mt Albert Research Centre 120 Mt Albert Road Mt Albert Auckland 1025. Clyde Mata-Au. 990 Earnscleugh Road RD1 Alexandra 9391. Dunedin Ōtepoti. Chemistry Department ...
A smart green future. Together. · Plant & Food Research
With our partners, we use world-leading science to improve the way they grow, fish, harvest, prepare and share food. Every day, we have 1000 people working across Aotearoa New Zealand and the world to help deliver healthy foods from the world's most sustainable systems. Our smart green future starts here.
About us · Plant & Food Research
At Plant & Food Research, we believe science can create a better future. By finding smarter, greener options today, we're helping secure the world we want to live in tomorrow. With our partners, we use world-leading science to improve the way they grow, fish, harvest, prepare and share food. Every day, we have 1000 people working across ...
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OIA requests. As a Crown Research Institute, Plant & Food Research is subject to the New Zealand Official Information Act (OIA). To contact us with a request under the OIA, please email: [email protected]. For more information about the OIA, who can submit a request and the types of information that can be requested, please visit the Ombudsman's website.
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"The Mt Albert Research Centre is a key site in our New Zealand network, housing close to 200 scientists and 150 general staff, about 30% of our total workforce. These staff members work with teams across New Zealand to deliver research that supports the sustainable production of plant and marine-based food products.
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What we offer. We want everyone at Plant & Food Research to have the right career for them. We provide opportunities for our people to develop their talents and abilities to be the best they can be, helping them move through the organisation in the way that best fits their skills and aspirations. We also offer: Superannuation matched up to 6%.
Plant & Food Research
120 Mt Albert Road, Sandringham, Auckland: Agency executives: David Hughes, CEO; Nicola Shadbolt, Chair; Website: plantandfood.co.nz: Plant & Food Research (Māori: Rangahau Ahumāra Kai) is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute (CRI). Its purpose is to enhance the value and productivity of New Zealand's horticultural, arable, seafood and food ...
Plant and Food Research
Phone: +64 9 925 7000. Street address: 120 Mt Albert Road Sandringham Auckland1025New Zealand. Postal address: Private Bag 92169Auckland1142New Zealand. Website More contact details. Plant and Food Research. Rangahau Ahumāra Kai.
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The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited | 20,133 followers on LinkedIn. A smart green future. Together. | At Plant & Food Research, we believe science can create a better future. ... 120 Mt Albert Road Sandringham Auckland, 1025, NZ Get directions 990 Earnscleugh Road Alexandra, Otago 9391, NZ ...
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Plant and Food Research · Mt Albert. Contact. Connect with experts in your field. ... Plant and Food Research; Elspeth A Macrae. ex Scion; All co-authors (50) View All. Vicki Vance. Department.
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Plant & Food Research, Auckland, New Zealand. 8,656 likes · 71 talking about this · 405 were here. A smart green future. Together.
A review of current knowledge about the formation of native ...
1 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, 120 Mt Albert Road, Mount Albert, Auckland 1025, New Zealand; and School of Biological Science, The University of Auckland, ... 4 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, 412 No. 1 Road, RD2, Te Puke 3182, New Zealand; and Corresponding author. Email: sean ...
FENZ, police respond to incident at Plant Food and Research facility in
Workers from Plant and Food Research institute in Auckland's Mount Albert had to evacuate today after a chemical odour triggered the fire alarm about a 12.45pm. Ten fire trucks responded to the call, alongside a Hato Hone St John ambulance and two police cars. Firefighters have since left the scene.
A smart green future. Together. · Plant & Food Research
With our partners, we use world-leading science to improve the way they grow, fish, harvest, prepare and share food. Every day, we have 1000 people working across Aotearoa New Zealand and the world to help deliver healthy foods from the world's most sustainable systems. Our smart green future starts here.
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Plant & Food Research. Email: [email protected] 120 Mt Albert Road, Sandringham, Auckland Location map (Google) University of Auckland staff. Clinical Trials Research Unit. Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Professor Mohammed Farid
Kiwifruit SVP2 controls developmental and drought-stress pathways
Affiliations 1 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) Mt Albert, Auckland Mail Centre, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.; 2 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) Lincoln, Christchurch Mail Centre, Private Bag 4704, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand.; 3 School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019 ...
MYBs Drive Novel Consumer Traits in Fruits and Vegetables
2 New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Mt Albert, Auckland, New Zealand. PMID: 30033210 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.06.001 Abstract Eating plant-derived compounds can lead to a longer and healthier life and also benefits the environment. Innovation in the fresh food sector, as well as new cultivars, can improve consumption of ...
The apple BTB protein MdBT2 positively regulates MdCOP1 abundance to
Richard V Espley, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mt. Albert, Auckland 92169, New Zealand. Yuan-Peng Du, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Fruit and Vegetable Production with High Quality and Efficiency, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong ...
Smoke alarm at Mount Albert Plant and Food Research facility prompts
A spokesperson for the Plant and Food Research facility said a smoke detector in a lab at their Mt Albert research centre was activated earlier today, triggering an evacuation.
Plant & Food Research, Auckland
Past events at Plant & Food Research. From Science Technician to General Manager. Plant & Food Research, Wed 21 Oct 2009. Plant & Food Research, 120 Mt Albert Rd, Auckland. Guide for Plant & Food Research events. Plant & Food Research provides research and innovation to ensure sustainable growth of the plant and marine-based food industries.
Plant and Food Research
Mt Albert Research Centre 120 Mt Albert Road Sandringham Auckland 1025. See on map. Mailing Address. Private Bag 92 169 Auckland Mail Centre ... 09 925 7000 Website https://www.plantandfood.co.nz Description. Plant & Food Research, formerly DSIR is a New Zealand-based science company providing research and development that adds value to fruit ...
Emergency services respond to incident near Auckland plant and food
Emergency services are responding to an "active and ongoing" incident in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert. Police said they are assisting Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) with an incident on Mount ...
Plant & Food Research
From Plant & Food Website: "Plant & Food Research's Mt Albert site is the largest of the company's 14 New Zealand sites and home to around 300 staff. As Head Office, the site also contains many of the administrative functions for the business. The largest building on the Mt Albert Research Campus (MARC) is the seven-storey Hamilton ...

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The apple BTB protein MdBT2 positively regulates MdCOP1 abundance to repress anthocyanin biosynthesis

Ting-Ting Zhang

Richard V Espley

Introduction

MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis

MdBT2 interacts with MdCOP1

MdBT2 stabilizes MdCOP1

MdBT2 restrains MdCOP1 self-ubiquitination

MdBT2 enhances nuclear accumulation of MdCOP1

MdBT2 inhibits anthocyanin biosynthesis in an MdCOP1-dependent manner

Materials and methods

Vector construction and plant transformation

RNA extraction and RT-qPCR analysis

Protein extraction and western blotting

Y2H screening and assay

Pull-down assay

Co-IP assay

BiFC assay and transient expression in N. benthamiana leaves

Cell-free degradation assay

In vitro ubiquitination assay

Determination of the total anthocyanin content

Viral vector-based transient expression in apple fruit and leaves

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Smoke alarm at Mount Albert Plant and Food Research facility prompts emergency services hazmat response, fears of chemical incident

Benjamin Plummer

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