Conifer R2R3-MYB transcription factors: sequence analyses and gene expression in wood-forming tissues of white spruce (Picea glauca)

Abstract
Several members of the R2R3-MYB family of transcription factors act as regulators of lignin and phenylpropanoid metabolism during wood formation in angiosperm and gymnosperm plants. The angiosperm Arabidopsis has over one hundred R2R3-MYBs genes; however, only a few members of this family have been discovered in gymnosperms.