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April 21, 2020  |  

Mutation of a bHLH transcription factor allowed almond domestication.

Authors: Sánchez-Pérez, R and Pavan, S and Mazzeo, R and Moldovan, C and Aiese Cigliano, R and Del Cueto, J and Ricciardi, F and Lotti, C and Ricciardi, L and Dicenta, F and López-Marqués, R L and Møller, B Lindberg

Wild almond species accumulate the bitter and toxic cyanogenic diglucoside amygdalin. Almond domestication was enabled by the selection of genotypes harboring sweet kernels. We report the completion of the almond reference genome. Map-based cloning using an F1 population segregating for kernel taste led to the identification of a 46-kilobase gene cluster encoding five basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, bHLH1 to bHLH5. Functional characterization demonstrated that bHLH2 controls transcription of the P450 monooxygenase-encoding genes PdCYP79D16 and PdCYP71AN24, which are involved in the amygdalin biosynthetic pathway. A nonsynonymous point mutation (Leu to Phe) in the dimerization domain of bHLH2 prevents transcription of the two cytochrome P450 genes, resulting in the sweet kernel trait. Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Journal: Science
DOI: 10.1126/science.aav8197
Year: 2019

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