What’s behind Purple Tomatoes? Insight into the Mechanisms of Anthocyanin Synthesis in Tomato Fruits

Colanero, Sara; Perata, Pierdomenico; Gonzali, Silvia

doi:10.1104/pp.19.01530

Cited by 40 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Future research in the plant biology field will be needed to further increase the amount of anthocyanins in tomato fruits, inducing, for example, their biosynthetic pathway also in the flesh (which could allow the use of purple tomatoes not only as fresh but also as processed products) or making more uniform their synthesis on the peel [ 5 ]. Moreover, it can be envisaged that additional studies will be carried out on the nutraceutical value of these vegetables, with new and more in-depth research on the peculiar mechanisms of action of the anthocyanin fraction they contain, as well as preclinical and clinical trials to better evaluate their health beneficial effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remarkably, the flavonoid pathway is active only in the fruit peel [ 47 , 48 ], where flavonols and their derivatives can be accumulated [ 49 ]. Anthocyanins are not synthesized in tomato fruits, due to mutations in regulatory genes of their specific biosynthetic pathway [ 5 ]. On the contrary, they are produced in tomato vegetative tissues [ 50 ], provided that adequate developmental and environmental stimuli are present.…”

Section: Purple Tomatoes: Their Origins and Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After some preliminary attempts [ 5 ], the first “purple” engineered tomatoes were produced in 2008, when two transcription factor-encoding genes from snapdragon, Delila ( Del ) and Rosea1 ( Ros1 ), were expressed in the cultivar MicroTom under a fruit-specific promoter [ 52 ]. The high anthocyanin concentrations reached in these fruits determined an intense purple coloration in both peel and flesh, enhancing in a significant way their hydrophilic antioxidant power.…”

Section: Purple Tomatoes: Their Origins and Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative strategy to obtain anthocyanin-rich tomatoes has been the breeding approach, made possible by the existence of wild Solanum species bearing fruits that synthesize anthocyanins under suitable conditions [ 5 , 51 ]. Different genetic combinations were obtained by crossing S. lycopersicum with different interfertile wild species.…”

Section: Purple Tomatoes: Their Origins and Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… General anthocyanin structure and list of the most common anthocyanins found in nature (from [ 5 ]) ( A ). Examples of purple tomato fruits obtained by breeding: Aft / Aft · atv / atv · hp2 / hp2 in MicroTom background (on the left); Aft / Aft · atv / atv in Ailsa Craig background ( B ).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Anthocyanins from Purple Tomatoes as Novel Antioxidants to Promote Human Health

Gonzali

Perata

2020

Antioxidants

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Anthocyanins are plant secondary metabolites belonging to the class of polyphenols, whose beneficial roles in the prevention and treatment of several important human diseases have been demonstrated in many epidemiological studies. Their intake through diet strictly depends on the eating habits, as anthocyanins are contained in red and purple fruit and vegetables as well as in some processed foods and beverages, such as red wine. Genetic engineering and breeding programs have been recently carried out to increase the content of anthocyanins in candidate plant species which cannot offer satisfactory levels of these precious compounds. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a vegetable commodity where these strategies have resulted in success, leading to the production of new anthocyanin-rich fruit varieties, some of which are already marketed. These varieties produce purple fruits with a high nutraceutical value, combining the health benefits of the anthocyanins to the other classical tomato phytochemicals, particularly carotenoids. The antioxidant capacity in tomato purple fruits is higher than in non-anthocyanin tomatoes and their healthy role has already been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Recent evidence has indicated a particular capacity of tomato fruit anthocyanins to act as scavengers of harmful reactive chemical species and inhibitors of proliferating cancer cells, as well as anti-inflammatory molecules.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Purple Tomatoes: Their Origins and Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Purple Tomatoes: Their Origins and Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Purple Tomatoes: Their Origins and Specificitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Anthocyanins from Purple Tomatoes as Novel Antioxidants to Promote Human Health

Gonzali

Perata

2020

Antioxidants

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Solanum galapagense‐derived purple tomato fruit color is conferred by novel alleles of the anthocyanin fruit and atroviolacium loci

et al. 2022

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One hypothesis for the origin of endemic species of tomato on the Galápagos islands postulates a hybridization of Solanum pimpinellifolium and Solanum habrochaites. Solanum galapagense accession LA1141 has purple fruit pigmentation, previously described in green‐fruited wild tomatoes such as S. habrochaites or Solanum chilense. Characterization of LA1141 derived purple pigmentation provides a test of the hybridization hypothesis. Purple pigmentation was recovered in progenies derived from LA1141, and the anthocyanins malvidin 3(coumaroyl)rutinoside‐5‐glucoside, petunidin 3‐(coumaroyl) rutinoside‐5‐glucoside, and petunidin 3‐(caffeoyl)rutinoside‐5‐glucoside were abundant. Fruit color was evaluated in an introgression population, and three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were mapped and validated in subsequent populations. The loci atroviolacium on chromosome 7, Anthocyanin fruit on chromosome 10, and uniform ripening also on chromosome 10 underly these QTLs. Sequence analysis suggested that the LA1141 alleles of Aft and atv are unique relative to those previously described from S. chilense accession LA0458 and Solanum cheesmaniae accession LA0434, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the LA1141 Aft genomic sequence did not support a green‐fruited origin, and the locus clustered with members of the red‐fruited tomato clade. The LA1141 allele of Aft is not the result of an ancient introgression from the green‐fruited clade and underlies a gain of anthocyanin pigmentation in the red‐fruited clade.

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