Anthocyanin Accumulation and Molecular Analysis of Correlated Genes by Metabolomics and Transcriptomics in Sister Line Apple Cultivars

Abstract

Red coloration in apples, an important quality trait, is primarily attributed to the accumulation of anthocyanins. Centuries of breeding have produced a wide variety of apples with different levels of anthocyanins in response to genetic and environmental stimuli. The Huashuo apple shows a much darker red color than its sister line, Huarui. Thirteen different anthocyanins were detected in Huashuo and Huarui apples, of which ten were significantly more abundant in Huashuo apples, confirming that the color difference is indeed attributed to high anthocyanins accumulation rather than the types of anthocyanins. In particular, the contents of cyanidin 3-O-galactoside levels were highest among anthocyanins in both cultivars, reaching >5000 μg·g−1 at the last color transition stage in Huashuo apples, while only >3000 μg·g−1 in Huarui apples. Moreover, the expression of most structural genes, especially DFR, CHI, and 4CL associated with anthocyanin synthesis, were higher in Huashuo apples than in Huarui apples. Combined transcriptomics, metabolomics, and qRT-PCR analysis revealed that six transcription factors from the MYB and bZIP transcription factor families likely play key roles in the dark coloring of Huashuo apples. These results provide deeper insights into apple coloring and suggest a series of candidate genes for breeding anthocyanin-rich cultivars.

Anthocyanin physiology and biochemistry in fleshy fruit species: Mangosteen as a model

“…The high expression of genes shown in Table 1 has been correlated with anthocyanin accumulation in both colored and noncolored fruit, and their skin and flesh, in a range of fruits including apple (Honda et al, 2002;C. Ma et al, 2019;Shi et al, 2022), grape (Boss et al, 1996;Ge et al, 2022;Jeong et al, 2004;Lu et al, 2023), litchi (He et al, 2022;Lai et al, 2014), mango (Bajpai et al, 2018), Malay apple (Kotepong et al, 2011(Kotepong et al, , 2019, peach (Cao et al, 2018;X. Liu et al, 2019;Rahim et al, 2014;Tsuda et al, 2004;Ye et al, 2019), pear (J.…”

Integrated Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Analysis Reveal Anthocyanin Biosynthesis for Petal Color Formation in Catharanthus roseus

“…The majority of these DAFs belong to the flavonol and anthocyanin classes (Figure 2e). Special attention was paid to the differences in anthocyanin among CW, CR, and CP, as anthocyanin plays a crucial role in flower color change [29][30][31]. A hierarchical heatmap clustering analysis was conducted using the anthocyanidin compound contents of CW, CR, and CP (Figure 3a).…”

“…Interestingly, the three groups exhibited distinct separation, indicating different anthocyanidin profiles in different color petals. CR exhibited significantly higher levels of delphinidin 3 Special attention was paid to the differences in anthocyanin among CW, CR, and CP, as anthocyanin plays a crucial role in flower color change [29][30][31]. A hierarchical heatmap clustering analysis was conducted using the anthocyanidin compound contents of CW, CR, and CP (Figure 3a).…”

Transcriptome Analysis of White- and Red-Fleshed Apple Fruits Uncovered Novel Genes Related to the Regulation of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis

“…They have been extensively studied, especially in regard to human health, playing a huge role in reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease, asthma, gastrointestinal diseases, etc., and they also contribute to weight regulation [11,13,14]. The flavonoid pathway is well-recognized and consists of a number of different enzymes that catalyze the biosynthesis of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins [15]. In apples, anthocyanidins are divided into several subclasses: pelargonidin, cyanidin, delphinidin, peonidin, petunidin, and malvidin, and most of them are cyanidins; thus, the reconstruction of galactose into the cyanidin form galactoside is mainly based on the transformation of galactose into cyanidin-3-galactoside [16].…”