Academic Journal
Csa-miR160 targets transcriptional repressor CsARF18 and modulates auxin-mediated crocin biosynthesis in Crocus sativus L.
| Τίτλος: | Csa-miR160 targets transcriptional repressor CsARF18 and modulates auxin-mediated crocin biosynthesis in Crocus sativus L. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Xing B; State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China., Wang S; State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China., Zhang A; State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China., Zhu X; State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China., Zheng Y; State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China., Zhang L; College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Key Laboratory of Plant Secondary Metabolism and Regulation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China., Pan L; Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Shulan International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou 310015, China., Shao Q; State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou 311300, China. |
| Πηγή: | Plant physiology [Plant Physiol] 2026 May 06; Vol. 201 (1). |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: American Society of Plant Biologists Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0401224 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1532-2548 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00320889 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Plant Physiol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Original Publication: Lancaster, Pa., American Society of Plant Physiologists. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Indoleacetic Acids*/metabolism , Indoleacetic Acids*/pharmacology , MicroRNAs*/genetics , MicroRNAs*/metabolism , Crocus*/genetics , Crocus*/metabolism , Plant Proteins*/metabolism , Plant Proteins*/genetics , Repressor Proteins*/metabolism , Repressor Proteins*/genetics, Carotenoids/metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant/drug effects ; Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics ; Plants, Genetically Modified |
| Περίληψη: | Auxin plays a central regulatory role in plant development and secondary metabolism. Crocins are key compounds responsible for the pharmacological effects of saffron, and their content is reduced by exogenous IAA. However, the mechanism underlying this regulation remains unclear. In this study, we identified an auxin response factor, ARF18, whose gene expression is induced by IAA and negatively correlates with crocin biosynthesis. Silencing of CsARF18 resulted in increased crocin content, whereas overexpression of CsARF18 led to a decrease in crocin content. CsARF18 was shown to bind to AuxREs within the promoters of CsPSY1 and CsALDH5, consequently inhibiting their transcription. Furthermore, the microRNA Csa-miR160 was identified as a regulator of CsARF18, promoting its degradation. Co-overexpression of Csa-miR160 and CsARF18 in Crocus sativus L. alleviated the inhibitory effect of CsARF18 on crocin biosynthesis, whereas silencing Csa-miR160 failed to alleviate this inhibition. Our results demonstrate that Csa-miR160 targets and degrades CsARF18, thereby weakening its inhibitory regulation on CsPSY1 and CsALDH5. Based on these findings, we propose the "CsARF18-CsPSY/CsALDH-crocin" regulatory model, in which Csa-miR160 modulates auxin signaling during crocin biosynthesis in C. sativus. This study lays the foundation for further research on the secondary metabolites of saffron. (© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.) |
| Competing Interests: | Conflicts of interest: The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest. |
| Grant Information: | 2023SNJF029 "San Nong Jiu Fang" Science, Technology Cooperation; 2021C02074-3 Zhejiang Provincial Major Science and Technology; LZ24H280003 Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China; 82003891 National Natural Science Foundation of China; 2024TD003 Provincial Universities of Zhejiang; 202410341069 National Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Indoleacetic Acids) 36-88-4 (Carotenoids) 0 (MicroRNAs) 877GWI46C2 (crocin) 0 (Plant Proteins) 0 (Repressor Proteins) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260316 Date Completed: 20260711 Latest Revision: 20260711 |
| Update Code: | 20260711 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/plphys/kiag142 |
| PMID: | 41838799 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1532-2548 |
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| DOI: | 10.1093/plphys/kiag142 |