Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41575014›Full record

ArticlePlant biotechnology journal2026

The MdERF17-MdbHLH149 Module Mediates Ethylene-Induced Starch Degradation Through the Transcriptional Repression of α-Amylase MdAMY1 in Apple.

Fan Xiao, Chu-Kun Wang, Jiu-Cheng Zhang, Xin-Yue Jian, Ying Xiang, Wang-Jiang Zhang, Jin-Chao Meng, Wen-Yan Wang, Da-Gang Hu

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Plant biotechnology journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Fan XiaoNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Chu-Kun WangNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Jiu-Cheng ZhangNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Xin-Yue JianNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Ying XiangKey Laboratory of Special Fruits and Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Xinjiang, China.
Wang-Jiang ZhangNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Jin-Chao MengNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Wen-Yan WangNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
Da-Gang HuNational Research Center for Apple Engineering and Technology; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production; College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1443-3646

Funding

Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province 2023CXGC010709National Key Research and Development Program of China 2022YFD2100100National Key Research and Development Program of China 2023YFD2301000National Natural Science Foundation of China 32572986Shandong Postdoctoral Science Foundation SDZZ-ZR-202501248Taishan Scholar Project Special Funds of China tstp20250723
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The ripening of climacteric fruits is characterised by a sharp increase in ethylene production, coinciding with the conversion of starch into soluble sugars. However, the regulatory interplay between ethylene and starch degradation in apple remains largely unclear. Here, we report a negative correlation between starch accumulation and ethylene levels during late fruit development. Integrated transcriptomic analysis identified the α-amylase gene MdAMY1 as a key component of the ethylene-starch regulatory pathway. Functional characterisation confirmed that MdAMY1, an ethylene-responsive gene, acts as a positive regulator of starch-to-sugar conversion. Biochemical assays showed that the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor MdbHLH149 directly represses MdAMY1 transcription. Furthermore, MdERF17-a negative regulator in ethylene signalling-interacts with MdbHLH149 and synergistically enhances this repression. A combination of GUS staining, quantitative enzyme activity assays and VIGS-based transient transformation demonstrated that the MdERF17-MdbHLH149-MdAMY1 module acts downstream of ethylene signalling to control starch degradation. Collectively, these findings establish that ethylene facilitates starch degradation by negatively regulating the MdERF17-MdbHLH149-MdAMY1 repression module.

Indexed as

alpha-AmylasesEthylenesMalusPlant ProteinsStarchFruitGene Expression Regulation, PlantSignal Transductionalpha-AmylasesethyleneEthylenesPlant ProteinsStarchappleethylene signallingstarch degradationsugar metabolismtranscriptional regulation

Identifiers

PMID41575014
PMCPMC13110154

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.