Abstract:

MYB is one of the biggest multifunctional transcription factors（TFs）families in plants. It is widely involved in regulating multiple process at the transcription level, including plant growth and development, signal transduction of various phyhormones and response to abiotic and biotic stresses. The N-terminal of MYB contained a typical MYB domain, which is divided into different subgroups according to the number of R repeats in the domain. However, the C-terminal domain is very different, thus it is functionally diverse. Many studies have been shown that MYB can bind to the downstream target gene promoter cis-acting elements MYBCORE and AC-box alone or through interaction with other proteins after being activated by environmental signals, and participate in regulating the expressions of downstream target genes, thereby regulating plant tolerances to stresses. Additionally, MYB responded to abiotic and biotic stresses by regulating signaling pathways such as abscisic acid（ABA）, brassinolide（BR）, jasmonic acid（JA）and reactive oxygen species（ROS）. In this review, the structure, classification, and action type of the MYB families in plants were summarized, and the regulatory mechanisms of MYB in the response to abiotic and biotic stresses such as salt, drought, extreme temperature, nutrient deficiency, heavy metals, and pathogenic bacteria, were mainly reviewed. The key direction of future studies were also prospected. This paper may provide genetic resources and theoretical support for genetic improvement of stress resistance of crops and biological breeding in the future.

Key words: MYB transcription factors, transcriptional regulation, DNA-binding domain, abiotic stress, biotic stress, resistance to stress, gene expression, protein interaction