Cloning and molecular analysis of the regulatory factor HiMyb1 in hop (Humulus lupulus L.) and the potential of hop to produce bioactive prenylated flavonoids

The concentrations of prenylated chalcones and bitter acids were analyzed in Czech hop varieties. The highest levels of (xanthohumol + desmethyixanthohumol) (0.97 m/m) and of total bitter acids (17.19 m/m) were observed for cv. Agnus. The concentration ratios of bitter acids to prenylated chalcones varied depending on the genotype, thereby suggesting genetic determination by different set(s) of structural and regulatory genes. Promoter elements of the chsH1 gene encoding a ``true'' chalcone synthase, a candidate gene to co-determine the biosynthesis of prenylated chalcones, were analyzed, and several boxes for cis-regulatory elements including Myb transcription factors were discovered. A cDNA library was established from glandular tissue-enriched cones of cv. Osvald's clone 72 and used to screen for Myb regulatory elements. The cDNA of the first Myb regulatory factor from hop, called HIMyb1, was cloned and analyzed. The HIMyb1 open reading frame encodes 272 amino acids (29.8 kDa), and the protein showed highest homology to the light-regulated factor AtMyb68 from Arabidopsis thaliana within the Myb domain, whereas there was no significant homology with known MYB proteins outside this domain. Unlike AtMyb68, which is expressed in mature leaves, HIMyb1 is strongly expressed in hop inflorescences and could participate in the regulation of developmental processes involved in the production of hop cones and bioactive secondary metabolites.