Integrated Transcriptome and Metabolome Analyses Provide Insights into the Coloring Mechanism of Dark-red and Yellow Fruits in Chinese Cherry [<i>Cerasus pseudocerasus</i> (Lindl.) G. Don]
oleh: Yan Wang, Zhiyi Wang, Jing Zhang, Zhenshan Liu, Hao Wang, Hongxia Tu, Jingting Zhou, Xirui Luo, Qing Chen, Wen He, Shaofeng Yang, Mengyao Li, Yuanxiu Lin, Yunting Zhang, Yong Zhang, Ya Luo, Haoru Tang, Xiaorong Wang
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-02-01 |
Deskripsi
Chinese cherry [<i>Cerasus pseudocerasus</i> (Lindl.) G. Don] is an important fruit tree from China that has excellent ornamental, economic, and nutritional values with various colors. The dark-red or red coloration of fruit, an attractive trait for consumers, is determined by anthocyanin pigmentation. In this study, the coloring patterns during fruit development in dark-red and yellow Chinese cherry fruits were firstly illustrated by integrated transcriptome and widely-targeted metabolome analyses. Anthocyanin accumulation in dark-red fruits was significantly higher compared with yellow fruits from the color conversion period, being positively correlated to the color ratio. Based on transcriptome analysis, eight structural genes (<i>CpCHS</i>, <i>CpCHI</i>, <i>CpF3H</i>, <i>CpF3’H</i>, <i>CpDFR</i>, <i>CpANS</i>, <i>CpUFGT</i>, and <i>CpGST</i>) were significantly upregulated in dark-red fruits from the color conversion period, especially <i>CpANS</i>, <i>CpUFGT</i>, and <i>CpGST</i>. On contrary, the expression level of <i>CpLAR</i> were considerably higher in yellow fruits than in dark-red fruits, especially at the early stage. Eight regulatory genes (<i>CpMYB4</i>, <i>CpMYB10</i>, <i>CpMYB20</i>, <i>CpMYB306</i>, <i>bHLH1</i>, <i>CpNAC10</i>, <i>CpERF106</i>, and <i>CpbZIP4</i>) were also identified as determinants of fruit color in Chinese cherry. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry identified 33 and 3 differential expressed metabolites related to anthocyanins and procyanidins between mature dark-red and yellow fruits. Cyanidin-3-<i>O</i>-rutinoside was the predominant anthocyanin compound in both fruits, while it was 6.23-fold higher in dark-red than in yellow fruits. More accumulated flavanol and procyanidin contents resulted in less anthocyanin content in flavonoid pathway in yellow fruits due to the higher expression level of <i>CpLAR</i>. These findings can help understand the coloring mechanism of dark-red and yellow fruits in Chinese cherry, and provide genetic basis for breeding new cultivars.