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Molecular characterization and transcriptome analysis of orange head Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis)

Planta volume 241, pages 1381–1394 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Main conclusion

The orange head phenotype of Br - or resulted from a large insertion in carotenoid isomerase (BrCRTISO) . Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the mutation affected the expression of abundant transcription factor genes. A new orange trait-specific marker was developed for marker-assisted breeding.

Orange head leaves are a desirable quality trait for Chinese cabbage. Our previous fine mapping identified BrCRTISO as the Br-or candidate gene for the orange Chinese cabbage mutant. Here, we examined the BrCRTISO gene from white and orange head Chinese cabbage. While BrCRTISO from the white control plant was able to complement the Arabidopsis Atcrtiso mutant phenotype, Brcrtiso with a large insertion from the orange head Chinese cabbage failed to rescue the Arabidopsis mutant phenotype. The results show that Brcrtiso was non-functional, concomitant with the accumulation of prolycopene in Br-or to yield orange head. Comparative transcriptome analysis by RNA-seq identified 372 differentially expressed genes between the control and Br-or mutant using two near-isogenic lines with white and orange inner leaves. The mutation in BrCRTISO specifically affected many genes in the functional groups involved in RNA, protein, transport, and signaling. Particularly, expressions of many transcription factor genes were dramatically altered in Br-or, suggesting a potential role of BrCRTISO or carotenoid metabolites in affecting transcription. A novel co-dominant gene-specific marker was developed that co-segregated with orange color phenotype and would be useful for marker-assisted selection with enhanced selection efficiency. Our study provides new insights into understanding of the molecular basis of Br-or in mediating head leaf color and depicts a global view of the effect of BrCRTISO on cellular processes in plant. It also provides a molecular tool to accelerate breeding new Chinese cabbage cultivars with unique health quality and visual appearance.

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Abbreviations

MAS:

Marker-assisted selection

NILs:

Near-isogenic lines

GGPP:

Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate

PSY:

Phytoene synthase

PDS:

Phytoene desaturase

ZDS:

ζ-Carotene desaturase

CRTISO:

Carotenoid isomerase

LCYB:

Lycopene β-cyclase

LCYE:

Lycopene ε-cyclase

CHYB:

β-Carotene hydroxylase

CHYE:

ε-Carotene hydroxylase

ZEP:

Zeaxanthin epoxidase

CCD:

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase

NCED:

9-Cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase

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Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Xiangjun Zhou, Mingke Zhang, and Huamin Zhang for their help and technical advice, Dr. Jiping Liu for kindly providing the pCAMBIA1305.1 vector. JZ thanks the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for support. This work was partially supported by USDA-ARS-based fund and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31171965), 863 plan (2012AA100105), and Science and technology support program of China (2012BAD02B01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Area, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Junxiang Zhang & Lugang Zhang

  2. Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Junxiang Zhang, Hui Yuan & Li Li

  3. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Zhangjun Fei

  4. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Barry J. Pogson

  5. Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, USDA-ARS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Li Li

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  1. Junxiang Zhang
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  2. Hui Yuan
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  3. Zhangjun Fei
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  4. Barry J. Pogson
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  5. Lugang Zhang
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  6. Li Li
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Correspondence to Lugang Zhang or Li Li.

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Zhang, J., Yuan, H., Fei, Z. et al. Molecular characterization and transcriptome analysis of orange head Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis). Planta 241, 1381–1394 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2262-z

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