Ectopic expression of apple F3'H genes contributes to anthocyanin accumulation in the arabidopsis tt7 mutant grown under nitrogen stress Article uri icon

abstract

  • Three genes encoding flavonoid 3%27-hydroxylase (F3%27H) in apple (Malus x domestica), designated MdF3%27HI, MdF3%27HIIa, and MdF3%27HIIb, have been identified. MdF3%27HIIa and MdF3%27HIIb are almost identical in amino acid sequences, and they are allelic, whereas MdF3%27HI has 91%25 nucleotide sequence identity in the coding region to both MdF3%27HIIa and MdF3%27HIIb. MdF3%27HI and MdF3%27HII genes are mapped onto linkage groups 14 and 6, respectively, of the apple genome. Throughout the development of apple fruit, transcriptional levels of MdF3%27H genes along with other anthocyanin biosynthesis genes are higher in the red-skinned cv Red Delicious than that in the yellow-skinned cv Golden Delicious. Moreover, patterns of MdF3%27H gene expression correspond to accumulation patterns of flavonoids in apple fruit. These findings suggest that MdF3%27H genes are coordinately expressed with other genes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in apple. The functionality of these apple F3%27H genes has been demonstrated via their ectopic expression in both the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) transparent testa7-1 (tt7) mutant and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). When grown under nitrogen-deficient conditions, transgenic Arabidopsis tt7 seedlings expressing apple F3%27H regained red color pigmentation and significantly accumulated both 4%27-hydrylated pelargonidin and 3%27,4%27-hydrylated cyanidin. When compared with wild-type plants, flowers of transgenic tobacco lines overexpressing apple F3%27H genes exhibited enhanced red color pigmentation. This suggests that the F3%27H enzyme may coordinately interact with other flavonoid enzymes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. © 2010 American Society of Plant Biologists.
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publication date

  • 2010-01-01