NtMYB308 Negatively Regulates Anthocyanin and Lignin Biosynthesis and Modulates Fungal Resistance in Nicotiana tabacum.
Singh N, Dwivedi S, Singh D, Pathak PK, Srivastava S
Crispr
Tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries in your garden all use the same pigment-and-lignin defense system — understanding the 'off switch' that limits it could lead to disease-resistant varieties that need fewer fungicide sprays.
Plants make two kinds of natural armor: colorful pigments that fight stress and a woody material that toughens cell walls. Tobacco has a gene that keeps a lid on both, essentially telling the plant not to make too much of either. Scientists switched that gene off using CRISPR editing and found the plants ramped up their defenses and became noticeably better at surviving fungal attacks.
Key Findings
NtMYB308 carries a specialized repression domain (EAR motif) that physically shuts off genes for both anthocyanin pigment and lignin production in the same pathway
Virus-induced silencing of NtMYB308 confirmed it suppresses the phenylpropanoid pathway, the shared factory that produces pigments, lignin, and many other plant defenses
CRISPR/Cas9 knockout tobacco plants lacking NtMYB308 showed elevated anthocyanin and lignin levels alongside measurably improved resistance to fungal pathogens
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a gene in tobacco — NtMYB308 — that acts as a molecular brake on the plant's ability to make protective pigments (anthocyanins) and structural woody compounds (lignin). Knocking out this gene with CRISPR boosted both defenses and improved the plant's ability to resist fungal infection.
Abstract Preview
Anthocyanins and lignin, both derived from the phenylpropanoid pathway, play essential roles in plant defence and development. While anthocyanins attract pollinators and provide antioxidative prote...
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Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. Seventy-nine species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. The more potent variant N. rus...