PsWRKY27, PsWRKY51 and PsWRKY66 activate PsDFR2 to promote anthocyanin accumulation in tree peony petals
Anthocyanin biosynthesis dominates tree peony petal pigmentation, yet its WRKY-mediated transcriptional regulation remains poorly understood. Anthocyanin content was far higher in petals of the cultivar ‘Hongxialanman’ than in ‘Fengdan’. Two key structural genes PsDFR1 and PsDFR2 exhibited markedly elevated expression in the red-flowered cultivar, while PsDFR3 was barely detectable. Six PsWRKY proteins were verified to bind the W-box motifs of the PsDFR2 promoter. RT-qPCR revealed that PsWRKY27 , PsWRKY51 and PsWRKY66 were significantly upregulated in pigment-enriched petals and correlated positively with anthocyanin accumulation. Dual-luciferase assays confirmed their transcriptional activation on PsDFR2 . The three genes displayed distinct tissue-specific expression patterns in two cultivars. Transient overexpression in petunia further demonstrated that they effectively enhanced anthocyanin accumulation. This study reveals a molecular module of WRKY- DFR2 regulating flower color formation in tree peony.
Authors
- Xin Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9937-2108)
- Hechen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3596-7003)
- Huijuan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8113-3774)
- Yanmin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1174-3873)
- Zhenzhu Fu
- Liming Lan
- Lifang Cao
- Xiaohui Wang
Institutions
- Henan Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Shijiazhuang Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Plant Biology
- Published
- 2026-09-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-026-09925-5
- Primary Topic
- Plant Gene Expression Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00