title: Purple canola: Arabidopsis PAP1 increases antioxidants and phenolics in Brassica napus leaves.
abstract: Anthocyanins, other flavonoids, and phenolic acids belong to a group of plant natural products with antioxidant activity and may play important roles in plant protection against biotic and abiotic stress and in protection against human diseases. In the present study, the Arabidopsis regulatory gene Production of Anthocyanin Pigment 1 (AtPAP1) was expressed in Brassica napus (canola), and its presence enhanced the antioxidant capacity in transgenic leaves up to 4-fold. Transgenic plants had intense purple coloration, cyanidin and pelargonidin levels were enhanced 50-fold, and quercetin and sinapic acid were 5-fold higher. Consistent with these phytochemical and biological changes, expression for most genes in the flavonoid and phenolic acid biosynthetic pathways was also stimulated.
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ming-Jun
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Hong-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: De-Jun
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Margaret Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Gruber
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D029688:Brassica napus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D000073718:Pancreatitis-Associated Proteins; D010858:Pigmentation; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D000975:Antioxidants; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D000073718:Pancreatitis-Associated Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C502612:AT1G56650 protein, Arabidopsis; C000612141:REG3A protein, human