The MYB transcription factor PpMYB5 regulates Pp4CL1/Pp4CL2 expression to promote lignin biosynthesis of fruit russeting in the flat nectarine

Abstract Nectarine russeting is usually considered to be a non-invasive physiological disease that usually occurs on late maturing cultivars and seriously affects their appearance quality and commercial value. The cause of nectarine fruit rust is currently unknown. In this study, we compared two flat nectarine cultivars, ‘zhongyoupanweidi’ (HD; russeting-free cultivar) and ‘zhongyoupanweihou’ (TH; russeting-prone cultivar), with respect to nectarine russeting by means of microscopy, transcriptomics, and hormone analysis. Compared to HD fruits, TH fruits had a broken cuticle, missing wax layer, and heavy lignin deposition. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed significant alternations in expression of genes related to lignin synthesis. Moreover, structure genes Pp4CL1 and Pp4CL2, MYB transcription factor (TF) gene PpMYB5 were identified through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Molecular experiments and transgenic evidence suggested that PpMYB5 regulates Pp4CL1/Pp4CL2expression to promote lignin synthesis. Overall, in addition to providing new insights into the formation of mechanism for nectarine russeting, our study also establishes a foundation for nectarine russeting prevention.