宮原 平

SUMMARY Purple carrot accumulates anthocyanins modified with galactose, xylose, glucose, and sinapic acid. Most of the genes associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis have been identified, except for the glucosyltransferase genes involved in the step before the acylation in purple carrot. Anthocyanins are commonly glycosylated in reactions catalyzed by UDP‐sugar‐dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs). Although many studies have been conducted on UGTs, the glucosylation of carrot anthocyanins remains unknown. Acyl‐glucose‐dependent glucosyltransferase activity modifying cyanidin 3‐xylosylgalactoside was detected in the crude protein extract prepared from purple carrot cultured cells. In addition, the corresponding enzyme was purified. The cDNA encoding this glucosyltransferase was isolated based on the partial amino acid sequence of the purified protein. The recombinant protein produced in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves via agroinfiltration exhibited anthocyanin glucosyltransferase activity. This glucosyltransferase belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3). The expression pattern of the gene encoding this GH3‐type anthocyanin glucosyltransferase was consistent with anthocyanin accumulation in carrot tissues and cultured cells.

The Hercules beetle larvae grow by feeding on humus, and adding a thermophile-fermented compost to the humus can upregulate the growth of female larvae. In this study, the effects of compost on the intestinal environment, including pH, cation concentrations, and organic acid concentrations of intestinal fluids, were investigated, and the RNA profile of the fat body was determined. Although the total intestinal potassium ions were similar between the larvae grown without compost (control larvae) and those with compost (compost larvae), the proportion of potassium ions in the midgut of the compost larvae drastically increased. In the midgut, an unidentified organic acid was the most abundant, and its concentration increased in the compost larvae. Transcriptome analysis showed that a gene encoding hemolymph juvenile-binding protein (JHBP) was expressed in the compost female larvae and not in the control female larvae. Expression of many genes involved in the defensive system was decreased in the compost female larvae. These results suggest that the female-specific enhancement of larval growth by compost was associated with the increased JHBP expression under conditions in which the availability of nutrition from the humus was improved by an increase in potassium ions in the midgut.

Grafting of non-transgenic scion onto genetically modified (GM) rootstocks provides superior agronomic traits in the GM rootstock, and excellent fruits can be produced for consumption. In such grafted plants, the scion does not contain any foreign genes, but the fruit itself is likely to be influenced directly or indirectly by the foreign genes in the rootstock. Before market release of such fruit products, the effects of grafting onto GM rootstocks should be determined from the perspective of safety use. Here, we evaluated the effects of a transgene encoding β-glucuronidase (GUS) on the grafted tomato fruits as a model case. An edible tomato cultivar, Stella Mini Tomato, was grafted onto GM Micro-Tom tomato plants that had been transformed with the GUS gene. The grafted plants showed no difference in their fruit development rate and fresh weight regardless of the presence or absence of the GUS gene in the rootstock. The fruit samples were subjected to transcriptome (NGS-illumina), proteome (shotgun LC-MS/MS), metabolome (LC-ESI-MS and GC-EI-MS), and general food ingredient analyses. In addition, differentially detected items were identified between the grafted plants onto rootstocks with or without transgenes (more than two-fold). The transcriptome analysis detected approximately 18,500 expressed genes on average, and only 6 genes were identified as differentially expressed. Principal component analysis of 2,442 peaks for peptides in proteome profiles showed no significant differences. In the LC-ESI-MS and GC-EI-MS analyses, a total of 93 peak groups and 114 peak groups were identified, respectively, and only 2 peak groups showed more than two-fold differences. The general food ingredient analysis showed no significant differences in the fruits of Stella scions between GM and non-GM Micro-Tom rootstocks. These multiple omics data showed that grafting on the rootstock harboring the GUS transgene did not induce any genetic or metabolic variation in the scion.

Although yellow and orange petal colors are derived from carotenoids in many plant species, this has not yet been demonstrated for the order Caryophyllales, which includes carnations. Here, we identified a carnation cultivar with pale yellow flowers that accumulated carotenoids in petals. Additionally, some xanthophyll compounds were esterified, as is the case for yellow flowers in other plant species. Ultrastructural analysis showed that chromoplasts with numerous plastoglobules, in which flower-specific carotenoids accumulate, were present in the pale yellow petals. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses indicated that the expression levels of genes for carotenoid biosynthesis and esterification in pale yellow and pink petals (that accumulate small amounts of carotenoids) were similar or lower than in green petals (that accumulate substantial amounts of carotenoids) and white petals (that accumulate extremely low levels of carotenoids). Pale yellow and pink petals had a considerably lower level of expression of genes for carotenoid degradation than white petals, suggesting that reduced degradation activity caused accumulation of carotenoids. Our results indicate that some carnation cultivars can synthesize and accumulate esterified carotenoids. By manipulating the rate of biosynthesis and esterification of carotenoids in these cultivars, it should be feasible to produce novel carnation cultivars with vivid yellow flowers.

Carnations carrying a recessive I gene show accumulation of the yellow pigment chalcononaringenin 2'-glucoside (Ch2'G) in their flowers, whereas those with a dominant I gene do accumulation the red pigment, anthocyanin. Although this metabolic alternative at the I gene could explain yellow and red flower phenotypes, it does not explain the development of orange flower phenotypes which result from the simultaneous accumulation of both Ch2'G and anthocyanin. The carnation whole genome sequencing project recently revealed that two chalcone isomerase genes are present, one that is consistent with the I gene (Dca60979) and another (Dca60978) that had not been characterized. Here, we demonstrate that Dca60979 shows a high level of gene expression and strong enzyme activity in plants with a red flower phenotype; however, functional Dca60979 transcripts are not detected in plants with an orange flower phenotype because of a dTdic1 insertion event. Dca60978 was expressed at a low level and showed a low level of enzyme activity in plants, which could catalyze a part of chalcone to naringenin to advance anthocyanin synthesis but the other part remained to be catalyzed chalcone to Ch2'G by chalcone 2'-glucosyltransferase, resulting in accumulation of anthocyanin and Ch2'G simultaneously to give orange color.

In a previous study, two genes responsible for white flower phenotypes in carnation were identified. These genes encoded enzymes involved in anthocyanin synthesis, namely, flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H) and dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), and showed reduced expression in the white flower phenotypes. Here, we identify another candidate gene for white phenotype in carnation flowers using an RNA-seq analysis followed by RT-PCR. This candidate gene encodes a transcriptional regulatory factor of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) type. In the cultivar examined here, both F3H and DFR genes produced active enzyme proteins; however, expression of DFR and of genes for enzymes involved in the downstream anthocyanin synthetic pathway from DFR was repressed in the absence of bHLH expression. Occasionally, flowers of the white flowered cultivar used here have red speckles and stripes on the white petals. We found that expression of bHLH occurred in these red petal segments and induced expression of DFR and the following downstream enzymes. Our results indicate that a member of the bHLH superfamily is another gene involved in anthocyanin synthesis in addition to structural genes encoding enzymes.

Blue coloration in delphinium flowers arises from 7-polyacylated anthocyanins which are modified alternately with acyl and glucosyl residues at the 7 position of the aglycone. Previously, we identified two independent genes for acyl-glucose-dependent anthocyanin 7-(6-(p-hydroxybenzoyl)-glucoside) glucosyltransferases (AA7BG-GT); recombinant proteins from the two cDNAs were produced in Escherichia coli and showed AA7BG-GT activity in vitro. Here, a double knockout mutant of both genes was found to lack modification of the second glucosyl residue following further acyl and glucosyl modifications. Both genes in the double mutant had nucleotide sequence changes and deletions that disrupted their transcripts and caused loss of AA7BG-GT activity in sepals. These results provide genetic confirmation that both genes are responsible for AA7BG-GT enzyme activity.

The flowers of delphinium cultivars owe their coloration to anthocyanins such as delphinidin or pelargonidin derivatives. To date, no delphinium cultivars have been found with red flowers due to the presence of cyanidin derivatives. This suggests that delphiniums do not have cyanidin biosynthesis ability because of the loss of function of flavonoid 3'hydroxylase (F3'H). Here, we show that the wild delphinium species Delphinium zalil (synonym semibarbatum) can accumulate quercetin 3-glucosides in its sepals, presumably through F3'H activity. We isolated F3'H cDNA from D. zalil (DzF3'H) and produced a recombinant enzyme from a yeast transformant. The recombinant DzF3'H protein could convert naringenin, apigenin, dihydrokaempferol and kaempferol to eriodictyol, luteolin, dihydroquercetin and quercetin, respectively. An expression analysis confirmed that blue flowered D. grandiflorum does not express F3'H, and also showed that flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase and anthocyanidin synthase do not function in D. zalil sepals. DzF3'H can act as a flavonoid hydroxylase to produce cyanidin accumulation. The introduction of the DzF3'H gene into other delphinium species by conventional breeding may enable development of cultivars with novel flower colors. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Flower color intensity is largely determined by the amount of accumulated anthocyanins. Delphinium flowers show a wide range of colors from pale pink to deep orange to red to dark blue. Here, we demonstrated that the level of anthocyanin accumulation in dark blue, orange and red varieties was higher than in pale blue and pale pink varieties. Since dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) is a key enzyme in anthocyanin biosynthesis and accumulation in plants, we investigated the relationship between flower color intensity and the level of DFR gene expression. Six delphinium varieties with different flower colors were analyzed. Varieties that accumulated relatively high levels of anthocyanin also had high levels of DFR expression and enzyme activity in crude protein extracts. By contrast, DFR expression and activity was low in varieties with low anthocyanin accumulation. Alignment of DFR amino acid sequences in the six varieties showed the presence of two types, termed DgDFR and DnDFR. Recombinant DgDFR and DnDFR proteins had similar substrate specificities, but the kinetic turnover rate of the DnDFR enzyme was higher than that of DgDFR. We conclude that DFR expression level is closely correlated with flower color intensity and that DFR is an important factor that determines anthocyanin accumulation and delphinium flower color intensity.

Canterbury bells (Campanula medium) have deep purple petals due to the accumulation of 7-polyacylated anthocyanin molecules. The first step in the production of 7-polyacylated anthocyanins is glucosylation at the C7 position of anthocyanidin mediated by an acyl-glucose dependent anthocyanin 7-O-glucosyltransferase (AA7GT). To date, two such enzymes have been identified: DgAA7GT from delphinium (Delphinium grandiflorum) and AaAA7GT from African lily (Agapanthus africanus). Here, we describe the isolation of AA7GT cDNA from C. medium and the characterization of the enzymatic properties of a recombinant protein. The CmAA7GT protein belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 1, similarly to other AA7GTs; a phylogenetic analysis revealed that CmAA7GT was in the same clade as other AA7GTs. The CmAA7GT gene showed expression only in flowers, with a peak level of expression at the middle stage of floral development. A recombinant CmAA7GT protein showed significant preference for interaction with anthocyanidin 3-O-rutinoside rather than anthocyanidin 3-O-monoglycoside, which is the preferred target of other AA7GTs. This difference in target preference may reflect a conformational difference in the acceptor pocket of the enzyme protein that recognizes the anthocyanidin glycoside.

The variegated flower colors of many plant species have been shown to result from the insertion or excision of transposable elements into genes that encode enzymes involved in anthocyanin synthesis. To date, however, it has not been established whether this phenomenon is responsible for the variegation produced by other pigments such as betalains. During betalain synthesis in red beet, the enzyme CYP76AD1 catalyzes the conversion of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) to cyclo-DOPA. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis indicated that the homologous gene in four o'clock (Mirabilis jalapa) is CYP76AD3. Here, we show that in four o'clock with red perianths, the CYP76AD3 gene consists of one intron and two exons; however, in a mutant with a perianth showing red variegation on a yellow background, a transposable element, dTmj1, had been excised from the intron. This is the first report that a transposition event affecting a gene encoding an enzyme for betalain synthesis can result in a variegated flower phenotype. (C) 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Higher plants can produce a wide variety of anthocyanin molecules through modification of the six common anthocyanin aglycons that they present. Thus, hydrophilic anthocyanin molecules can be formed and stabilized by glycosylation and acylation. Two types of glycosyltransferase (GT) and acyltransferase (AT) have been identified, namely cytoplasmic GT and AT and vacuolar GT and AT. Cytoplasmic GT and AT utilize UDP-sugar and acyl-CoA as donor molecules, respectively, whereas both vacuolar GT and AT use acyl-glucoses as donor molecules. In carnation plants, vacuolar GT uses aromatic acyl-glucoses as the glucose donor in vivo; independently, vacuolar AT uses malylglucose, an aliphatic acyl-glucose, as the acyl-donor. In delphinium and Arabidopsis, p-hydroxybenzoylglucose and sinapoylglucose are used in vivo as bi-functional donor molecules by vacuolar GT and AT, respectively. The evolution of these enzymes has allowed delphinium and Arabidopsis to utilize unique donor molecules for production of highly modified anthocyanins.

In delphiniums (Delphinium grandiflorum), blue flowers are produced by the presence of 7-polyacylated anthocyanins. The polyacyl moiety is composed of glucose and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBA). The 7-polyacylation of anthocyanin has been shown to be catalysed by two different enzymes, a glucosyltransferase and an acyltransferase; both enzymes utilize p-hydroxybenzoyl-glucose (pHBG) as a bi-functional (Zwitter) donor. To date, however, the enzyme that synthesizes pHBG and the gene that encodes it have not been elucidated. Here, five delphinium cultivars were investigated and found to show reduced or undetectable 7-polyacylation activity; these cultivars synthesized delphinidin 3-O-rutinoside (Dp3R) to produce mauve sepals. One cultivar showed a deficiency for the acyl-glucose-dependent anthocyanin 7-O-glucosyltransferase (AA7GT) necessary for mediating the first step of 7-polyacylation. The other four cultivars showed both AA7GT activity and DgAA7GT expression; nevertheless, pHBG accumulation was significantly reduced compared with wild-type cultivars, whereas p-glucosyl-oxybenzoic acid (pGBA) was accumulated. Three candidate cDNAs encoding a UDP-glucose-dependent pHBA glucosyltransferase (pHBAGT) were identified. A phylogenetic analysis of DgpHBAGT amino acid sequences showed a close relationship with UGTs that act in acyl-glucose synthesis in other plant species. Recombinant DgpHBAGT protein synthesized pHBG and had a high preference for pHBA in vitro. Mutant cultivars accumulating pGBA had very low expression of DgpHBAGT, whereas expression during the development of sepals and tissues in a wild cultivar showed a close correlation to the level of accumulation of pHBG. These results support the conclusion that DgpHBAGT is responsible for in vivo synthesis of pHBG in delphiniums.

The whole-genome sequence of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cv. 'Francesco' was determined using a combination of different new-generation multiplex sequencing platforms. The total length of the non-redundant sequences was 568 887 315 bp, consisting of 45 088 scaffolds, which covered 91% of the 622 Mb carnation genome estimated by k-mer analysis. The N50 values of contigs and scaffolds were 16 644 bp and 60 737 bp, respectively, and the longest scaffold was 1 287 144 bp. The average GC content of the contig sequences was 36%. A total of 1050, 13, 92 and 143 genes for tRNAs, rRNAs, snoRNA and miRNA, respectively, were identified in the assembled genomic sequences. For protein-encoding genes, 43 266 complete and partial gene structures excluding those in transposable elements were deduced. Gene coverage was similar to 98%, as deduced from the coverage of the core eukaryotic genes. Intensive characterization of the assigned carnation genes and comparison with those of other plant species revealed characteristic features of the carnation genome. The results of this study will serve as a valuable resource for fundamental and applied research of carnation, especially for breeding new carnation varieties.

Although delphiniums are famed for their blue flowers, a few varieties display reddish flowers, such the pale-pink garden varieties 'Ehime Kou 9 (Kou 9)' and 'F-1 Super Happy Pink (SHP),' and the orange-red flowered species Delphinium nudicaule (NDC). Blue delphinium flowers contain a delphinidin-derived anthocyanin, whereas the three varieties mentioned above have anthocyanins derived from the aglycone pelargonidin in their sepals. As flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) is known to be the key enzyme in biosynthesis of delphinidin, we compared the structure and function of the F3'5'H gene in three varieties of delphiniums with reddish flowers to one that has blue flowers. We found that the F3'5'H gene of 'Kou 9' had a point mutation that generated a stop codon in the first exon. Genomic PCR analysis indicated that the 'SHP' variety lacked F3'5'H. Although the nucleotide sequence of the F3'5'H open reading frame was identical in 'NDC' to that of the wild type, it lacked an intron and no F3'5'H transcripts could be detected in this variety. We conclude that the red flower phenotypes of these delphiniums derive from independent mutations of the F3'5'H gene. This is the first report on the delphinium F3'5'H gene. At a practical level, these mutations should be of value for breeding new pink and red flower varieties.

The biosynthetic pathways that produce anthocyanins, the principal pigments for flower and leaf coloration in plants, have been extensively investigated. As a result, many of the enzymes involved in these pathways have been identified. Here, we make use of an inducible Arabidopsis thaliana system and demonstrate that the final step in the formation of the major anthocyanin molecule occurs via a glucosylation step catalyzed by acyl-glucose-dependent anthocyanin glucosyltransferase (AAGT). The glucosylation occurs at the 4-coumarate moiety of the anthocyanin molecule cyanidin 3-O-[2 ''-O-(2'"-O-(sinapoyl) xylosyl) 6 ''-O-(p-coumaroyl) glucoside] 5-O-[6'"'-O-(malonyl) glucoside] leading to completion of the main anthocyanin structure, a reaction that has not previously been identified in studies of Arabidopsis anthocyanins. Earlier studies on flower AAGTs showed that they conjugate a glucose directly to the basic skeleton of anthocyanin. The present study provides the first evidence that an AAGT of Arabidopsis can conjugate a glucose to an acyl moiety of an anthocyanin modified with sugars and organic acids. The results from analyses of gene expression and of anthocyanin composition in a knock-out (1(0) mutant and from a complementation test indicate that AtBGLU10 might encode this AAGT. (C) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

A cDNA encoding an acyl-glucose-dependent anthocyanin 7-O-glucosyltransferase (AaAA7GT) was isolated from Agapanthus africanus petals: this is the first AAGT identified in a monocot. Peak expression of AaAA7GT in developing A. africanus petals occurred before the flowering stage, and was later than found previously for other anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Analysis of recombinant proteins showed AaAA7GT had strict substrate preference for anthocyanidin 3-O-glycosides. The AaAA7GT amino acid had high sequence similarity to glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1) proteins, which typically act as beta-glycosidases. A phylogenetic analysis of amino acid sequences suggested that AAGTs were derived from glycosidase early in the angiosperm lineage. (c) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Recently, we characterized an acyl-glucose : anthocyanin 5-O-glucosyltransferase (DcAA5GT)in Dianthus caryophyllus that has novel characteristics. We also showed that a homologous enzyme, acyl-glucose: anthocyanin 7-O-glucosyltransferase (DgAA7GT), is present in Delphinium grandiflorum. These enzymes are both classified as members of glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1). Here, we searched the Arabidopsis thaliana database for genes with homology to DcAA5GT and DgAA7GT and identified 11 beta-glucosidases (BGLU1-11) of unknown function. In a co-expression analysis, using genes for enzymes involved in anthocyanin modification as baits, we found that expression of AtBGLU6 and AtBGLU9 appeared to be correlated to that of the baits. Real-time RT-PCR showed that AtBGLU1, 6, 7 and 9 were expressed at their highest levels in anthocyanin-inducing medium, although AtBGLU6 was a pseudogene in which there was a stop codon on the middle of its cDNA sequence. These results suggest that AtBGLU1, 7 and 9 might be candidate glucosyltransferases for anthocyanin/flavonoid modification or biosynthesis.

In carrot suspension-cultured cells, the expression of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase 1 (DcPAL1) gene was crucially regulated by the transcription regulatory factor Daucus carota MYB1 (DcMYB1). To elucidate the regulatory mechanism of DcMYB1 expression, we isolated and identified the transcription regulatory factor D. carota ethylene-insensitive3 (EIN3)-like protein (DcEIL) from a cDNA library prepared from suspension-cultured carrot cells treated with the "dilution effect" using a yeast one-hybrid system. DcEIL bound to a region of the DcMYB1 promoter containing a putative cis-element, which suppressed DcMYB1 promoter expression. The amino acid sequence of DcEIL contained the predicted signal sequence for nuclear localization, and transportation to the nucleus was confirmed using a green fluorescent protein-DcEIL fusion protein expressed in suspension-cultured Arabidopsis thaliana cells. The DcEIL gene was constitutively expressed irrespective of the elicitor treatment or the dilution effect. These results suggest that the binding of DcEIL to a cis-element of the DcMYB1 promoter might be regulated at the posttranslational level as a consequence of the regulation of DcPAL1 gene expression via DcMYB1 expression.