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Genetically engineered anthocyanin pathway for high health-promoting pigment production in eggplant

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Abstract

Anthocyanins, natural pigments with high antioxidant activities, are widely distributed in the plant kingdom and play important roles in various physiological processes. Much effort has been committed to enhancing the anthocyanin content of these health-promoting pigments in vegetables and grains, for their eye-catching colors and special nutrients. Previously, we reported that the SmMYB1 gene encoding a R2R3 MYB transcription factor participated in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in the peel of eggplant. In this work, we introduced SmMYB1 into a non-anthocyanin-accumulating eggplant cultivar (Solanum aethiopicum group Gilo) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Genetically engineered plants exhibited high concentrations of anthocyanin in leaves, petals, stamens, and fruit peels under normal growth conditions, especially in fruit flesh. Furthermore, highly methylated anthocyanins, malvidin 3-(p-coumaroyl)rhamnoside(glucoside)-5-glucoside and malvidin 3-(feruloyl)rhamnoside(glucoside)-5-glucoside, were separated from the purple fruit flesh and identified by HPLC–ESI–MS/MS. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that most anthocyanin structural genes were dramatically up-regulated in the tissues of transgenic lines compared with non-transformed plants. In addition, the transgenic seedlings had greater tolerance to freezing stress and better recovery under rewarming conditions. These results provide a good foundation for the breeding of new eggplant cultivars with more healthy agronomic traits in future studies.

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Abbreviations

PAL:

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase

C4H:

Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase

4CL:

4-Coumarate-CoA ligase

CHS:

Chalcone synthase

CHI:

Chalcone isomerase

F3H:

Flavone 3-hydroxylase

F3′H:

Flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase

DFR:

Dihydroflavonol reductase

ANS:

Anthocyanidin synthase

UFGT:

Flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

OMT:

O-Methyltransferase

DHK:

Dihydrokaempferol

DHQ:

Dihydroquercetin

DHM:

Dihydromyricetin

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

ESI–MS/MS:

Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time PCR

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31572129), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 106112015CDJZR235504), and Technology System of National Bulk Vegetable Industry–Eggplant Breeding Position (CARS-25-A-06).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Bioengineering College, Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Campus B, Room 515, 174 Shapingba Main Street, Chongqing, 400044, People’s Republic of China

      Yanjie Zhang, Guihua Chu, Zongli Hu, Qiong Gao, Baolu Cui & Guoping Chen

    2. The Institute of Vegetable Research, Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chongqing, 401329, People’s Republic of China

      Shibing Tian & Bo Wang

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    1. Yanjie Zhang
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    2. Guihua Chu
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    3. Zongli Hu
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    Correspondence to Guoping Chen.

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    Yanjie Zhang and Guihua Chu have contributed equally to this work.

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    Zhang, Y., Chu, G., Hu, Z. et al. Genetically engineered anthocyanin pathway for high health-promoting pigment production in eggplant. Mol Breeding 36, 54 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-016-0454-2

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