Molecular characterization of a cold-responsive RING-H2 finger gene from banana fruit and its interaction with MaMYC2a.

Many reports indicate that RING finger proteins play key roles in regulating plant defense responses against abiotic and biotic stresses, but few have thus far been investigated in economic fruit, such as bananas. In this study, a RING finger gene, designated MaRING1 , was isolated and characterized from banana fruit. MaRING1 belonged to the ATL RING-H2 finger protein family, and localized preferentially to the nucleus. Gene expression profiles revealed that MaRING1 was cold-responsive and induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment during cold storage. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that MaRING1 physically interacted with MaMYC2a, a transcription factor (TF) related to MeJA-induced chilling tolerance of banana fruit. Taken together, our results suggest that MaRING1 might functionally coordinate with MaMYC2a in response to cold stress of banana fruit, expanding our understanding of the possible involvement of RING finger proteins in the regulatory network of MeJA-induced chilling tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]