UFGT: The Key Enzyme Associated with the Petals Variegation in Japanese Apricot

Abstract

Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb.et Zucc.) is an important ornamental plant in China. One of the traits of petals color variegation is attractive, but its formation mechanism is unclear. In our study, RNA-seq technology was employed to characterize the transcriptome response to the mutation of “Fuban Tiaozhi” associated with petals variegation in Japanese apricot. As a result, 4,579,040 (white-flowered, WF) and 7,269,883 (red-flowered, RF) reads were mapped to P. persica genes, while 5,006,676 (WF) and 7,907,436 (RF) were mapped to P. persica genomes. There were 960 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified. Gene ontology analysis showed that these genes involved in 37 functional groups including 19 biological processes, 10 cellular components and eight molecular functions. Pathway enrichment annotation demonstrated that highly ranked genes were associated with flavonoid biosynthesis, anthocyanin biosynthesis, anthocyanins transports, plant hormone signal transduction, and transcriptional factors. The expression patterns part of them were validated by qRT-PCR. We found that UDP-glucose: flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT) gene showed differential expression pattern. The UFGT enzyme activities in RF had a significantly higher than that of WF and lower in the initial stage and increased when the red appeared in the petals, which is identical to the accumulation of anthocyanins. And we also validated the SNPs, leading to the nonsynonymous mutations, in the UFGT by Sanger sequencing which may affect the enzyme activity. In summary, our results provide molecular candidates for better understanding the mechanisms of the variegation in Japanese Apricot.

Comparative Transcriptomics Provides Insight into Floral Color Polymorphism in a Pleione limprichtii Orchid Population

“…From our analysis, the expression patterns of PlANS and PlUFGT are correlated with color intensity, and they showed their highest expression levels in the rose-purple flowers and their lowest in the white flowers. The ANS (Anthocyanidin synthase) encoding enzyme catalyzes the conversion of colorless leucocyanidin into colored anthocyanin [40], and anthocyanin is further glycosylated by different UFGT (UDP flavonoid glucosyl transferase) encoding enzymes that convert the anthocyanidins to different anthocyanin derivatives, exhibiting the final color [41]. We therefore speculate that PlANS and PlUFGT are two crucial genes that determine color intensity in P. limprichtii.…”

“…We therefore speculate that PlANS and PlUFGT are two crucial genes that determine color intensity in P. limprichtii. It has been revealed that the MBW protein complex, a combination of R2R3-MYB and bHLH transcription factors, along with WD40 proteins, play an important role in regulating the transcription of structural genes [41][42][43][44][45]. The activities of R2R3-MYB factors have distinct roles in determining the action of the complexes, either to promote or inhibit the transcription of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes [46,47].…”

Improvement Yield and Quality of Dahlia Flowers by Exogenous Application of Gibberellic Acid and Salicylic Acid under Sandy soil Conditions

“…The color of the flower is an attractive trait, but the underlying mechanism of its appearance is unclear. In addition, it is a central trait of ornamental plants and is determined by plant pigments (Tanaka et al, 2008 andWu et al, 2017). Strong colored petals are valuable in the floricultural market compared to pale colored because they often attract consumer attention.…”

miR169 andPmRGL2synergistically regulate NF-Y complex to active dormancy release in Japanese apricot (Prunus mumeSieb. et Zucc.)

“…Each analysis consisted of three biological replicates and three technical replicates of each biorep. The conditions for the PCR amplification were as follows: 95 °C for 3 min, followed by 40 cycles of 95°C for 20 s, 60°C for 20 s, and 72°C for 43 s. The relative expression level of genes and miRNAs wascalculated using the 2 -ΔΔCT method (Wu et al, 2017).…”