Abstract:

A MYB gene, PeMYBF1 , was isolated from male inflorescence of Populus euramericana for the first time by a homologous cloning technique. Sequence analysis showed that the gene encoding protein PeMYBF1 contained only two tandem repeats of 53 amino acids in its N-terminal, which was characteristic of R2R3-MYB transcription factor, suggesting PeMYBF 1 is a putative member of R2R3-MYB gene family in P. euramericana . Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid alignment of PeMYBF1 and other MYB proteins revealed that PeMYBF1 belonged to subgroup 19, in which members have been known to play important roles in inflorescence development. Organ-specific expression analysis revealed that PeMYBF1 was predominantly expressed in both male and female inflorescence. Our results suggested PeMYBF1 would be involved in the regulation of flower development in P. euramericana . Moreover, temporal expression pattern of PeMYBF1 revealed that PeMYBF1 expression was tightly regulated during inflorescence development.

Key words: flower development, Populus euramericana, R2R3-MYB gene