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Brassica juncea is one of important oilseed crops, and FA compositions determine quality of vegetable oil. Although fatty acid desaturases (FADs) are mainly responsible for modifying seed FA compositions, genome-wide analysis of FAD gene family in B. juncea (BjuFAD) is not reported. Here, we identified 57 BjuFAD genes in B. juncea genome using homology searches. These FAD genes were unevenly distributed in 16 chromosomes and 3 scaffolds. Phylogenetic analysis showed that BjuFAD genes were divided into seven subfamilies. Exon–intron organizations, intron patterns and MEME motifs were highly conserved within each of BjuFAD subfamilies. Moreover, subcellular locations of deduced BjuFAD proteins and cis-acting elements in BjuFAD promoters were predicted and analyzed using online software. In addition, 16 SSR loci were totally found in BjuFAD genes/promoters. This work provides a basis for further function study of BjuFAD genes in quality improvement of B. juncea seed oil and in plant development as well as stress response.

Arabidopsis thaliana MYB43 (AtMYB43) is suggested to be involved in cell wall lignification. PtrMYB152, the Populus orthologue of AtMYB43, is a transcriptional activator of lignin biosynthesis and vessel wall deposition. In this research, MYB43 genes from Brassica napus (rapeseed) and its parental species B. rapa and B. oleracea were molecularly characterized, which were dominantly expressed in stem and other vascular organs and showed responsiveness to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection. The BnMYB43 family was silenced by RNAi, and the transgenic rapeseed lines showed retardation in growth and development with smaller organs, reduced lodging resistance, fewer silique number and lower yield potential. The thickness of the xylem layer decreased by 28%, the numbers of sclerenchymatous cells, vessels, interfascicular fibers, sieve tubes and pith cells in the whole cross section of the stem decreased by 28%, 59%, 48%, 34% and 21% in these lines, respectively. The contents of cellulose and lignin decreased by 17.49% and 16.21% respectively, while the pectin content increased by 71.92% in stems of RNAi lines. When inoculated with S. sclerotiorum, the lesion length was drastically decreased by 52.10% in the stems of transgenic plants compared with WT, implying great increase in disease resistance. Correspondingly, changes in the gene expression patterns of lignin biosynthesis, cellulose biosynthesis, pectin biosynthesis, cell cycle, SA- and JA-signals, and defensive pathways were in accordance with above phenotypic modifications. These results show that BnMYB43, being a growth-defense trade-off participant, positively regulates vascular lignification, plant morphology and yield potential, but negatively affects resistance to S. sclerotiorum. Moreover, this lignification activator influences cell biogenesis of both lignified and non-lignified tissues of the whole vascular organ.