Anthocyanin Accumulation and Differential Expression of the Biosynthetic Genes Result in a Discrepancy in the Red Color of Herbaceous Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) Flowers

Horticulturae

Yuhan Tang¹  Zhaojun Hao¹  Daqiu Zhao¹  Yanqing Wu² 

[1] College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China;Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, The Ministry of Education of China, Institutes of Agricultural Science and Technology Development, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China;

关键词: herbaceous peony;    flower color;    anthocyanin;    biosynthetic genes;   

DOI  :  10.3390/horticulturae8040349

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is an ornamental plant with huge potential in the international flower market. Similar to the flowers of most other ornamental plants, the top sellers of P. lactiflora are those with red or pink flowers. However, most studies on flower colors have focused on the novel colors and have neglected the most common red flowers. In this study, a red cultivar of P. lactiflora (‘Dafugui’) and a pink cultivar (‘Qingwen’) were selected in order to study the discrepancy in the red color of the flowers. The results demonstrate that these two cultivars have the same compositions as anthocyanins, flavones, and flavonols but different contents. ‘Dafugui’ was found to have a high accumulation of upstream substances due to the higher expression of the early genes encoding phenylalanine ammonialyase (PlPAL) and flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase (PlF3′H). Moreover, the anthocyanidin synthase gene (PlANS) and UDP-glucose flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase gene (PlUF3GT) encoding enzymes catalyze these upstream substances into anthocyanins, resulting in more redness in ‘Dafugui’ than in ‘Qingwen’. Our study thus provides a better understanding of the anthocyanin accumulation and coloring mechanism of P. lactiflora and can serve as a theoretical basis for breeding more red flowers using genetic engineering techniques to cater to consumers’ preferences.

【 授权许可】

Unknown