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Anthocyanin accumulation and expression analysis of biosynthesis-related genes during chili pepper fruit development

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

Chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cv. Árbol and Uvilla fruits differing in anthocyanin contents were analyzed to characterize the accumulation patterns. The maximum accumulation of the aglycon delphinidin occurred 20 days postanthesis (DPA) with higher content in Uvilla than in Árbol fruits. Regarding the cDNA library, 9 186 cDNA clones were selected. The clones with high homology to genes concerning anthocyanin biosynthesis, such as encoding chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase (F3′5′H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), anthocyanidin synthase (ANS), UDP Glc-flavonoid 3-O-gluco-syl transferase (UFGT), and also those possibly involved in anthocyanin transport into the vacuoles, an anthocyanin permease (ANP) and a glutathione S-transferase (GST) were used for gene expression analysis. In general, the expression of all investigated genes was developmentally regulated in both Árbol and Uvilla. CHS and CHI transcripts were expressed at the maximal level at 10 DPA, and then consistently declined throughout fruit development. F3′5′H, DFR, UFGT and GST expression exhibited a positive correlation with anthocyanin accumulation, and the highest transcript levels were detected prior to or by the time of maximum anthocyanin accumulation, depending on the chili pepper type. Pericarp fruit tissues from cv. Tampiqueño 74, an anthocyanin non-accumulator, also showed CHS, CHI, F3H, ANS and ANP expression at some developmental stages.

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Abbreviations

ANP:

anthocyanin permease

ANS:

anthocyanidin synthase

CHI:

chalcone isomerase

CHS:

chalcone synthase

DFR:

dihydroflavonol 4-reductase

DPA:

days post anthesis

F3H:

flavanone 3-hydroxylase

F3′5′H:

flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase

Glc:

glucose

GST:

glutathione S-transferase

UDP:

uridindiphosphate

UFGT:

UDP Glc-flavonoid 3-O-glucosyl transferase

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ingeniería Genética de Plantas, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 36821, Irapuato, México

    C. Aza-González, L. Herrera-Isidrón, H. G. Núñez-Palenius & N. Ochoa-Alejo

  2. Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 36821, Irapuato, México

    O. Martínez De La Vega

  3. Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, 36821, Irapuato, México

    N. Ochoa-Alejo

Authors
  1. C. Aza-González
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  2. L. Herrera-Isidrón
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  3. H. G. Núñez-Palenius
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  4. O. Martínez De La Vega
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  5. N. Ochoa-Alejo
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Correspondence to N. Ochoa-Alejo.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: We acknowledge the National Council for Science and Technology (Conacyt; Mexico) for the fellowship to César Aza-González. The authors would like to thank Hamlet Avilés-Arnaut for his assistance to carry out the semi-quantitative expression analyses. This work was partially supported by grants from Fondos Mixtos Guanajuato (projects GTO-04-C02-24 and GTO-2005-C02-50), Conacyt (Project 55264) and SAGARPA (project 11806).

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Aza-González, C., Herrera-Isidrón, L., Núñez-Palenius, H.G. et al. Anthocyanin accumulation and expression analysis of biosynthesis-related genes during chili pepper fruit development. Biol Plant 57, 49–55 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0265-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-012-0265-1

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