title: Anthocyanin accumulation and molecular analysis of anthocyanin biosynthesis-associated genes in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.).
abstract: Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an edible fruit vegetable cultivated and consumed worldwide. The purple eggplant is more eye-catching and popular for the health-promoting anthocyanins contained in the fruit skin. Two kinds of anthocyanin were separated and identified from purple cultivar (Zi Chang) by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of anthocyanin accumulation in eggplant, the transcripts of anthocyanin biosynthetic and regulatory genes were analyzed in the fruit skin and the flesh of the purple cultivar and the white cultivar (Bai Xue). Compared with the other tissues, SmMYB1 and all anthocyanin biosynthetic genes except PAL were dramatically upregulated in the fruit skin of the purple cultivar. Overexpression of SmMYB1 activated abundant anthocyanin accumulation in the regenerating shoots of eggplant. These results prove that transcriptional activation of SmMYB1 accounts for constitutive upregulation of most anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and the onset of anthocyanin biosynthesis in the purple cultivar.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering College, Chongqing University , Campus A, 174 Shapingba Main Street, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yanjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zongli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Guihua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shibing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Zhiping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D032323:Solanum melongena / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D010940:Plant Proteins