The WRKY transcription factor IbWRKY24 regulates flavonoid biosynthesis in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.]…

Abstract

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) vines exhibit strong regenerative capacity, and their blades are rich in flavonoids, making them a promising target for nutritional biofortification. Here, we quantitatively assessed flavonoid contents and antioxidant capacities in blades from 90 genetically diverse sweetpotato genotypes. Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses identified IbWRKY24 as a key transcriptional regulator of flavonoid biosynthesis in sweetpotato blades. Overexpression of IbWRKY24 in stable transgenic sweetpotato lines significantly increased blade flavonoid accumulation (1.22–2.34-fold) and antioxidant activity (1.29–2.16-fold), whereas gene silencing caused marked reductions in both traits. Mechanistically, yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that IbWRKY24 directly binds specific W-box elements in the promoters of core flavonoid biosynthetic genes, including IbCHS, IbCHI, and IbFLS, thereby activating their transcription. Moreover, developmental profiling revealed a strong concordance between IbWRKY24 transcript abundance and flavonoid accumulation in blades (r = 0.806，P < 0.0001). Together, these results establish IbWRKY24 as a positive regulator of flavonoid biosynthesis and provide insights into transcriptional control of specialized metabolism in sweetpotato. This work offers a molecular target for flavonoid biofortification and high-value utilization of sweetpotato blade resources.

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BibTeX

@article{gao2026wrky,
  title = {{The WRKY transcription factor IbWRKY24 regulates flavonoid biosynthesis in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) blades}},
  author = {Jilong Gao and Ruihua Qin and Qina Lv and Peitao Chen and Chunli Wu and Rong Huang and Yulong Liu and Lina Jiang and Fan Yang and Ruican Yang and Tengfei Zhao and Yufan Fu},
  journal = {Horticulture research},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1093/hr/uhag216},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13721128},
  note = {CC BY},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - The WRKY transcription factor IbWRKY24 regulates flavonoid biosynthesis in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) blades
AU  - Jilong Gao
AU  - Ruihua Qin
AU  - Qina Lv
AU  - Peitao Chen
AU  - Chunli Wu
AU  - Rong Huang
AU  - Yulong Liu
AU  - Lina Jiang
AU  - Fan Yang
AU  - Ruican Yang
AU  - Tengfei Zhao
AU  - Yufan Fu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/03
JO  - Horticulture research
DO  - 10.1093/hr/uhag216
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13721128
AB  - Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) vines exhibit strong regenerative capacity, and their blades are rich in flavonoids, making them a promising target for nutritional biofortification. Here, we quantitatively assessed flavonoid contents and antioxidant capacities in blades from 90 genetically diverse sweetpotato genotypes. Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses identified IbWRKY24 as a key transcriptional regulator of flavonoid biosynthesis in sweetpotato blades. Overexpression of IbWRKY24 in stable transgenic sweetpotato lines significantly increased blade flavonoid accumulation (1.22–2.34-fold) and antioxidant activity (1.29–2.16-fold), whereas gene silencing caused marked reductions in both traits. Mechanistically, yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that IbWRKY24 directly binds specific W-box elements in the promoters of core flavonoid biosynthetic genes, including IbCHS, IbCHI, and IbFLS, thereby activating their transcription. Moreover, developmental profiling revealed a strong concordance between IbWRKY24 transcript abundance and flavonoid accumulation in blades (r = 0.806，P < 0.0001). Together, these results establish IbWRKY24 as a positive regulator of flavonoid biosynthesis and provide insights into transcriptional control of specialized metabolism in sweetpotato. This work offers a molecular target for flavonoid biofortification and high-value utilization of sweetpotato blade resources.
SN  - 2662-6810
SN  - 2052-7276
ER  -

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