PRJNA764765
Anthocyanin3 negatively regulates anthocyanin synthesis in maize
Anthocyanins are colorful molecules receiving recent attention due to their numerous health benefits and applications as natural colorants and nutraceuticals. Purple corn in particular is being investigated as a more economical source of natural colorants. Anthocyanin3 (A3) is a known recessive intensifier of anthocyanin pigmentation in maize. Two genetic approaches were used to pinpoint the gene involved with the a3 intense purple plant phenotype. First, a large-scale transposon-tagging population was created with a Dissociation (Ds) insertion in the nearby Anthocyanin1 gene. A de novo a3-m1::Ds mutant generated pinpointed the transposon insertion in Mybr97, which has homology to R3-Myb-like repressor CAPRICE in Arabidopsis. Second, a bulk segregant RNA-sequencing population found expression differences between pools of green A3 plants and purple mutant a3 plants. Mybr97 was highly downregulated, confirming its role as the gene responsible for the a3 dark purple phenotype.