Arabidopsis MYC2 Interacts with DELLA Proteins in Regulating Sesquiterpene Synthase Gene Expression

Arabidopsis thaliana flowers emit volatile terpenes, which may function in plant–insect interactions. Here, we report that Arabidopsis MYC2, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, directly binds to promoters of the sesquiterpene synthase genes TPS21 and TPS11 and activates their expression. Expression of TPS21 and TPS11 can be induced by the phytohormones gibberellin (GA) and jasmonate (JA), and both inductions require MYC2. The induction of TPS21 and TPS11 results in increased emission of sesquiterpene, especially (E)-β-caryophyllene. DELLAs, the GA signaling repressors, negatively affect sesquiterpene biosynthesis, as the sesquiterpene synthase genes were repressed in plants overaccumulating…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China
• AB
  Arizona Biomedical Research Commission