Abstract
The R2R3-MYB proteins comprise the largest class of MYB transcription factors, which play an essential role in regulating anthocyanin synthesis in various plant species. Ananas comosus var. bracteatus is an important colorful anthocyanins-rich garden plant. The spatio-temporal accumulation of anthocyanins in chimeric leaves, bracts, flowers, and peels makes it an important plant with a long ornamental period and highly improves its commercial value. We conducted a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of the R2R3-MYB gene family based on genome data from A. comosus var. bracteatus. Phylogenetic analysis, gene structure and motif analysis, gene duplication, collinearity, and promoter analysis were used to analyze the characteristics of this gene family. In this work, a total of 99 R2R3-MYB genes were identified and classified into 33 subfamilies according to phylogenetic analysis, and most of them were localized in the nucleus. We found these genes were mapped to 25 chromosomes. Gene structure and protein motifs were conserved among AbR2R3-MYB genes, especially within the same subfamily. Collinearity analysis revealed four pairs of tandem duplicated genes and 32 segmental duplicates in AbR2R3-MYB genes, indicating that segmental duplication contributed to the amplification of the AbR2R3-MYB gene family. A total of 273 ABRE responsiveness, 66 TCA elements, 97 CGTCA motifs, and TGACG motifs were the main cis elements in the promoter region under response to ABA, SA, and MEJA. These results revealed the potential function of AbR2R3-MYB genes in response to hormone stress. Ten R2R3-MYBs were found to have high homology to MYB proteins reported to be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis from other plants. RT-qPCR results revealed the 10 AbR2R3-MYB genes showed tissue-specific expression patterns, six of them expressed the highest in the flower, two genes in the bract, and two genes in the leaf. These results suggested that these genes may be the candidates that regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis of A. comosus var. bracteatus in the flower, leaf, and bract, respectively. In addition, the expressions of these 10 AbR2R3-MYB genes were differentially induced by ABA, MEJA, and SA, implying that these genes may play crucial roles in hormone-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis. Our study provided a comprehensive and systematic analysis of AbR2R3-MYB genes and identified the AbR2R3-MYB genes regulating the spatial-temporal anthocyanin biosynthesis in A. comosus var. bracteatus, which would be valuable for further study on the anthocyanin regulation mechanism of A. comosus var. bracteatus.