A TCP Transcription Factor in Malus halliana, MhTCP4, Positively Regulates Anthocyanins Biosynthesis

Anthocyanins belong to a group of flavonoids, which are the most important flower pigments. Clarifying the potential anthocyanins biosynthesis molecular mechanisms could facilitate artificial manipulation of flower pigmentation in plants. In this paper, we screened a differentially expressed gene, MhTCP4, from the transcriptome data of Malus halliana petals at different development stages and explored its role in anthocyanins biosynthesis. The transcriptome data and qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression level of MhTCP4 gradually decreased from the flower color fades. Tissue specific expression analysis showed MhTCP4 was expressed in the petal, leaf, and fruit of M. halliana, and was highly expressed in the scarlet petal. Overexpression of MhTCP4 promoted anthocyanins accumulation and increased pigments in infected parts of M. ‘Snowdrift’ and M. ‘Fuji’ fruit peels. In contrast, when endogenous MhTCP4 was silenced, the anthocyanins accumulation was inhibited and pigments decreased in the infected peels. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed that overexpression or silence of MhTCP4 caused expression changes of a series of structural genes included in anthocyanins biosynthesis pathway. The yeast two-hybrid assays indicated that MhTCP4 did not interact with MhMYB10. Furthermore, the yeast one-hybrid assays indicated that MhTCP4 did not directly bind to the promoter of MhMYB10, but that of the anthocyanins biosynthesis genes, MhCHI and MhF3′H. Dual luciferase assays further confirmed that MhTCP4 can strongly activate the promoters of MhCHI and MhF3′H in tobacco. Overall, the results suggest that MhTCP4 positively regulates anthocyanins biosynthesis by directly activated MhCHI and MhF3′H in M. halliana flowers.