Genome-wide identification of cassava R2R3 MYB family genes related to abscission zone separation after environmental-stress-induced abscission

Cassava plants (Manihot esculenta Crantz) resist environmental stresses by shedding leaves in leaf pulvinus abscission zones (AZs), thus leading to adaptation to new environmental conditions. Little is known about the roles of cassava R2R3 MYB factors in regulating AZ separation. Herein, 166 cassava R2R3 MYB genes were identified. Evolutionary analysis indicated that the 166 R2R3 MYB genes could be divided into 11 subfamilies. Transcriptome analysis indicated that 26 R2R3 MYB genes were expressed in AZs across six time points during both ethylene- and water-deficit stress-induced leaf abscission. Comparative expression profile analysis of similar SOTA (Self Organizing Tree Algorithm) clusters demonstrated that 10 R2R3 MYB genes had similar expression patterns at six time points in response to both treatments. GO (Gene Ontology) annotation confirmed that all 10 R2R3 MYB genes participated in the responses to stress and ethylene and auxin stimuli. Analysis of the putative 10 R2R3 MYB promoter regions showed that those genes primarily contained ethylene- and stress-related cis-elements. The expression profiles of the genes acting downstream of the selected MYBs were confirmed to be involved in cassava abscission zone separation. All these results indicated that R2R3 MYB plays an important regulatory role in AZ separation.