A ripening-induced transcription factor MaBSD1 interacts with promoters of MaEXP1/2 from banana fruit.

KEY MESSAGE: The ripening-induced MaBSD1 acts as a transcriptional activator, and might be involved in banana fruit ripening partly through directly activating the expression of two ripening-associated genes, MaEXP1/2. BSD (BTF2-like transcription factors, synapse-associated proteins and DOS2-like proteins) transcription factors are characterized by a typical BSD domain. However, little information is available concerning their possible roles in plant growth and development, especially in fruit ripening. In the present study, one BSD gene, designated as MaBSD1, was isolated from banana fruit. MaBSD1 has an open reading frame (ORF) of 921 bp which encodes a polypeptide of 306 amino acid residues with molecular weight of 34.80 kDa, and isoelectric point (pI) of 4.54. Subcellular localization and transcriptional activation assays showed that MaBSD1 was localized in both the nucleus and cytoplasm and possessed transcriptional activity. RT-qPCR and promoter activity analysis indicated that MaBSD1 was ethylene and ripening inducible, and the accumulation of MaBSD1 transcript was correlated well with the evolution of ethylene production and ripening process. Moreover, transient assay showed that MaBSD1 could activate the expression of two cell wall modification-related genes, MaEXP1/2, via directly interacting with their promoters. Together, these data suggest that ripening-induced MaBSD1 acts as a transcriptional activator and might be associated with banana fruit ripening, at least partially through directly activating the expression of MaEXP1/2, expanding the limited information concerning the BSD transcription factor in relation to fruit ripening.