Plant and Cell Physiology：中科院武汉植物园莲花色研究获进展

莲作为莲科莲属多年生草本水生植物，是我国重要的水生观赏花卉之一。莲具有红、白、黄、粉红等不同花色，但关于莲花瓣着色机理的研究较少。中国科学院武汉植物园水生植物基因组学与遗传育种学科组博士邓娇在研究员杨平仿的指导下，利用武汉植物园丰富的莲种质资源开展莲花瓣着色机理的研究，并取得相关研究进展。

通过对莲红色和白色两种花色的花瓣进行比较蛋白质组学研究，发现在88种蛋白质的表达量在两种花色的花瓣中显著差异表达。通过对差异表达的蛋白质进行功能分类发现，4种参与花青素合成的酶包括黄酮-3-羟基化酶、花青素合酶、花青素-3-O-葡萄糖转移酶和谷胱甘肽转移酶被鉴定。通过进一步分析这4个酶在两种花瓣的基因表达水平，推测花青素合酶可能是导致花青素在莲花瓣中合成和积累的关键基因。另外发现在两种花色的花瓣中花青素合酶基因启动子区域甲基化程度存在显著不同，推测该基因通过控制启动子区域甲基化水平调节其在花青素合成途径中的功能。相关研究结果发表在Plant and Cell Physiology 杂志上。

原文链接：

Proteomic and epigenetic analyses of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) petals between red and white cultivars

原文摘要：

Lotus is a vital aquatic ornamental plant with different flower colors. To explore the flower coloration mechanism in lotus, the constituents and contents of pigments in two lotus cultivars with red and white flowers were analyzed. Although flavones and flavonols were detected in both cultivars, anthocyanins could only be detected in red cultivar. A comparative proteomics analysis on the flower petals between these two cultivars was conducted. A total of 88 differentially expressed proteins were identified with 36 more abundant and 52 less abundant in red than white cultivar. Among them, four enzymes involved in anthocyanin pathway were identified, including flavanone 3-hydroxylase, anthocyanidin synthase, anthocyanidin 3-O-glucosyltransferase and glutathione S-transferase. Analysis on the expressional patterns of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes indicated that anthocyanindin synthase(ANS) gene might be the critical one determining the anthocyanins biosynthesis and accumulation in lotus flower. Further analysis showed that different methylation intensities on the promoter sequence of ANSgene might result in the different flower coloration in red and white cultivar. This study provides new insights into the mechanism of flower coloration in lotus, and may be helpful in its breeding and germplasm enhancement.

doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcv077

作者：生物帮