Isolation and identification of a putative scent-related gene RhMYB1 from rose

Rose fragrances play an important role in attracting pollinators and commercial value. However, some genes involved in rose floral scent metabolism are less well understood. Here, wild-type scented rose (WR) and its spontaneous non-scented mutant rose (MR) were analyzed. SPME-GC/MS analysis showed that relative content of 1-ethenyl-4-methoxy-benzene represented was significantly different between WR and MR. We have isolated an EST encoding a MYB family of transcription factor from SSH libraries of the two roses in the previous studies, and designated RhMYB1. In the study, the full-length cDNA of RhMYB1 was identified and characterized by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The RhMYB1 full-length cDNA was 1,125 bp containing an 882 bp open reading frame, which encodes a precursor protein of 294 amino acids. Sequence alignments revealed that RhMYB1 shared high similarity with other plants R-type MYB, and RhMYB1 contained a DNA binding domain. Northern blot analysis revealed that RhMYB1 was expressed specifically in flower petal, moreover, the expression level of RhMYB1 in WR increased along with scent emission, and decreased when the scent emission decreased. It is suggested that RhMYB1 might be a putative identification of gene involved in the biosynthesis of rose scent.