title: Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase cDNA from non-anthocyanin-producing species in the Caryophyllales.
abstract: Two types of red pigment, anthocyanins and betacyanins, never occur together in the same plant. Although anthocyanins are widely distributed in higher plants as flower and fruit pigments, betacyanins have replaced anthocyanins in the Caryophyllales. We isolated cDNAs encoding dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), which is the first enzyme committed to anthocyanin biosynthesis in the flavonoid pathway, from Spinacia oleracea and Phytolacca americana, plants that belong to the Caryophyllales. The deduced amino acid sequence of Spinacia DFR and Phytolacca DFR revealed a high degree of homology with DFRs of anthocyanin-producing plants. The DFR of carnation, an exception in the Caryophyllales that synthesizes anthocyanin, showed the highest level of identity. In the phylogenetic tree, Spinacia DFR and Phytolacca DFR clustered with the DFRs of anthocyanin-synthesizing dicots. Recombinant Spinacia and Phytolacca DFRs expressed in Escherichia coli convert dihydroflavonol to leucoanthocyanidin. The expression and function of DFR in spinach and pokeweed are discussed in relation to the molecular evolution of red pigment biosynthesis in higher plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610 Japan.
authors.forename: Setsuko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakuta
mesh_terms: D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001483:Base Sequence; D029748:Caryophyllaceae / Q000201:enzymology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; C056570:dihydroflavanol 4-reductase