Pistacia chinensis is known for its biodiesel production. Several varieties of this plant have leaves that produce anthocyanin, which is responsible for their reddish coloration in autumn. This reddish hue is what makes them useful as ornamental plants. However, the mechanism of anthocyanin accumulation during autumn leaf coloration remains unclear. R2R3-MYB proteins reportedly regulated anthocyanin biosynthesis in many plant species. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis and expression profiles of R2R3-MYB transcription factor in Pistacia. A total of 158 R2R3-MYB proteins were identified and grouped into 32 clades. Combining the data from RNA-seq and qRT-PCR, one key gene, EVM0016534, was screened and identified to have the highest correlation with anthocyanin accumulation. It was named PcMYB113 due to its sequence similarity to AtMYB113 and it could bind to the promoter of PcF3H. Furthermore, ectopic expression of PcMYB113 in Arabidopsis promoted the accumulation of anthocyanin in the seed coat, cotyledon, and mature leaves, thus confirming the function of PcMYB113 in anthocyanin biosynthesis. In addition, PcMYB113 had a specifically higher expression in senesced red leaves than in mature green leaves and young red leaves in P. chinensis, thereby suggesting the potential role of PcMYB113 in promoting anthocyanin biosynthesis during autumn leaf coloration. These findings enrich our understanding of the function of R2R3-MYB genes in anthocyanin biosynthesis and autumn leaf coloration.

黄连木以其生物柴油生产而闻名。这种植物的几个品种都有产生花青素的叶子，花青素是它们在秋天变红的原因。这种微红色使它们可用作观赏植物。然而，秋叶着色过程中花青素积累的机制尚不清楚。据报道，R2R3-MYB 蛋白调节了许多植物物种中的花青素生物合成。在这里，我们对黄连木中的 R2R3-MYB 转录因子进行了全基因组分析和表达谱。共鉴定出 158 个 R2R3-MYB 蛋白并将其分为 32 个进化枝。结合来自 RNA-seq 和 qRT-PCR 的数据，一个关键基因，EVM0016534, 被筛选并确定与花青素积累的相关性最高。它被命名PcMYB113由于其序列相似AtMYB113，它可以绑定到的启动子PcF3H。此外，PcMYB113在拟南芥中的异位表达促进了花青素在种皮、子叶和成熟叶片中的积累，从而证实了 PcMYB113 在花青素生物合成中的功能。此外，PcMYB113曾在衰老红叶比在成熟的绿叶和年轻的红叶子特别高表达P。中华，从而表明 PcMYB113 在秋叶着色过程中促进花青素生物合成的潜在作用。这些发现丰富了我们对 R2R3-MYB 基因在花青素生物合成和秋叶着色中的功能的理解。