Color recovery in berries of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) 'Benitaka', a bud sport of 'Italia', is caused by a novel allele at the VvmybA1 locus.
Color mutations in grape berry skin are relatively frequent events, and can be easily seen in the vineyard. Both light-red-skinned 'Ruby Okuyama' and more intense and uniform rosy-skinned 'Benitaka' (Vitis vinifera L.) are bud sports of white-skinned 'Italia'. Previously, we reported that 'Ruby Okuyama' was caused by the recovery of VvmybA1 expression, which may have occurred as a result of intra-LTR (long terminal repeat) recombination within a retrotransposon, Gret1. However, the molecular basis of the color recovery in 'Benitaka' has not been elucidated so far. Here, we found that the VvmybA1 locus of 'Benitaka' is heterozygous for the VvmybA1a allele (non-functional) and a novel VvmybA1(BEN) allele, and that VvmybA1(BEN) restored VvmybA1 transcripts. We hypothesized that VvmybA1(BEN) allele was caused by homologous recombination between VvmybA1a and VvmybA3. In addition, the content and composition of anthocyanins in berry skins differed greatly between 'Ruby Okuyama' and 'Benitaka'. The levels of expression of the genes for flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H), O-methyltransferase (OMT), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were associated with differences in the anthocyanin content and composition between the two cultivars.
Grape and Persimmon Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Akitsu 301-2, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-2494, Japan.
Akifumi
A
Azuma
Grape and Persimmon Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Akitsu 301-2, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-2494, Japan. Electronic address: skobaya@affrc.go.jp.
Shozo
S
Kobayashi
National Research Institute of Brewing, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-0046, Japan.
Nami
N
Goto-Yamamoto
Fukuoka Agriculture Research Center, Chikushino, Fukuoka 818-8519, Japan.
Mikio
M
Shiraishi
Grape and Persimmon Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Akitsu 301-2, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-2494, Japan.
Nobuhito
N
Mitani
Grape and Persimmon Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Akitsu 301-2, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-2494, Japan.
Hiroshi
H
Yakushiji
Grape and Persimmon Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Akitsu 301-2, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-2494, Japan.
Yoshiko
Y
Koshita
Anthocyanin; Bud mutation; Grape skin color; myb