Molecular analysis of anthocyanin-related genes in ornamental cabbage

Ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is a winter-grown and important decorative plant of the Brassicaceae family, which displays an exceptional coloration in the central leaves of the rosette. Anthocyanins are the key determinant of the red, purple and blue colors of vegetative and reproductive parts of many plant species including ornamental cabbage. Total anthocyanin content was measured spectrophotometrically and the highest anthocyanin content detected in the red followed by light-red and white ornamental cabbage lines. Anthocyanin biosynthesis is controlled by members of three different transcription factor (TF) families such as MYB, basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) and WD40 repeats (WDR) which function as a â MBWâ complex. We identified three MYBs, six bHLHs, and one WDR that regulate of anthocyanin biosynthesis in ornamental cabbage. The expression of the regulatory and the biosynthetic genes for anthocyanin synthesis was determined by qPCR. The tested structural genes of anthocyanin pathway were shown to be up-regulated in the red followed by light-red ornamental cabbage, however, the expression levels of the late biosynthetic genes were barely detected in the white ornamental cabbage. Among the regulatory genes, BoPAP2 as MYB, BoTT8, BoEGL3.1 and BoMYC1.2 as bHLH and BoTTG1 as WDR were identified as candidates for the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. This work could be useful for the breeding of novel colorful ornamental cabbage cultivars.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author