J Integr Plant Biol ›› 2026, Vol. 68 ›› Issue (1): 239-256.DOI: 10.1111/jipb.70071

• • 上一篇    下一篇

  

  • 收稿日期:2025-05-14 接受日期:2025-09-23 出版日期:2026-01-01 发布日期:2026-01-12

The PbrMADS1–PbrMYB169 complex has uniquely emerged to regulate lignification of stone cells in pear

Yongsong Xue1,2†, Shulin Chen3†, Yingyu Hao1, Meng Shan1, Pengfei Zheng3, Runze Wang1, Mingyue Zhang4, Jun Wu1,2* and Cheng Xue3*   

  1. 1. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Quality Biology, School of Horticulture, College of Horticulture, Anhui AgriculturalUniversity, Hefei 230036, China

    2. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, College of Horticulture, Nanjing AgriculturalUniversity, Nanjing 210095, China

    3. College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai‐An 271018, China

    4. College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China

    †These authors contributed equally to this work.

    *Correspondences: Jun Wu (wujun@ahau.edu.cn); Cheng Xue (xcheng@sdau.edu.cn, Dr. Xue is fully responsible for the distribution ofall materials associated with this article)

  • Received:2025-05-14 Accepted:2025-09-23 Online:2026-01-01 Published:2026-01-12
  • Supported by:
    This work was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (U24A20415, 32230097, 32472689), the Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS‐28), the National Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2024QC064), the Advanced Talents Research Foundation of Shandong Agricultural University, and the “First Class Discipline” Construction Project of Shandong Agricultural University.

Abstract: Lignified stone cells are a unique feature of pear fruit, significantly affecting fruit texture. Even though some research efforts have already been made, the stone cell formation mechanism is complex, with many aspects yet to be elucidated. Here, through a genome-wide association analysis of stone cell traits, we identified PbrMADS1, a member of the SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) subfamily, as a candidate gene specifically expressed in stone cells during early fruit development. Functional studies confirmed that PbrMADS1 promotes stone cell formation; however, it does not directly activate lignin-related genes. Instead, PbrMADS1 interacts with PbrMYB169, enhancing PbrMYB169's binding to AC elements and amplifying downstream gene activation. Notably, homologous MADS1 and MYB169 proteins from closely related species such as apple and loquat do not form a similar complex. Sequence analysis revealed that the protein sequence of PbrMADS1 contains methionine (M) at the 63rd amino acid position, while apple and loquat homologs carry threonine (T) at the same site. Substituting M with T (PbrMADS1M63T) weakened its interaction with PbrMYB169 and impaired its function in regulating stone cell formation. This study offers new insights into MADS gene-mediated stone cell formation and highlights functional divergence within the SEP3 subfamily among apple tribe species of the Rosaceae family.

Key words: functional divergence, PbrMADS1–PbrMYB169 complex, pear, stone cells

[an error occurred while processing this directive]