title: Pink berry grape (Vitis vinifera L.) characterization: Reflectance spectroscopy, HPLC and molecular markers.
abstract: Color has a fundamental role for the qualitative evaluation and cultivar characterization of fruits. In grape, a normally functional pigment biosynthesis leads to the accumulation of a high quantity of anthocyanins. In this work, 28 Vitis vinifera L. cultivars accumulating low anthocyanins in berries were studied to characterize the biosynthetic dysfunctions in both a phenotypic and genotypic point of view. Reflectance spectroscopy, HPLC profiles and molecular markers related to VvMybA1 and VvMybA2 genes allowed a detailed description of the pigment-related characteristics of these cultivars. Data were consistent concerning the heterozygosity of the non-functional allele in both investigated genes, resulting in a low colored phenotype as described by reflectance. However, the variability in berry colour among our samples was not fully explained by MybA locus, probably due to specific interferences among the biosynthetic pathways, as suggested by the anthocyanin profile variations detected among our samples. The results presented in this work confirmed the importance of the genetic background: grapes accumulating high levels of cyanidin-3-O-glucosides (di-substituted anthocyanin) are generally originated by white cultivar retro-mutations and they seem to preserve the anomalies in the flavonoid hydroxylases enzymes which negatively affect the synthesis of tri-substituted anthocyanins.
authors.affiliation: CIRIVE, Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per l'Innovazione in Viticoltura ed Enologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali - Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy. Electronic address: laura.rustioni@unimi.it.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rustioni
authors.affiliation: CIRIVE, Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per l'Innovazione in Viticoltura ed Enologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali - Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Lorenzis
authors.affiliation: Life Science Institute, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3-5 Mănăştur st., 400372, Cluj-Napoca Romania.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hârţa
authors.affiliation: CIRIVE, Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per l'Innovazione in Viticoltura ed Enologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali - Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Osvaldo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Failla
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003116:Color; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005838:Genotype; D005960:Glucosides / Q000378:metabolism*; D006579:Heterozygote; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010858:Pigmentation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D027843:Vitis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D015415:Biomarkers; D005419:Flavonoids; D005960:Glucosides; D010940:Plant Proteins; C462279:cyanidin-3-O-beta-glucopyranoside; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases
keywords: Anthocyanins; Grapevine; HPLC profiles; Molecular markers; Reflectance spectroscopy; VvMybA1; VvMybA2