UDP-sugar biosynthetic pathway: contribution to cyanidin 3-galactoside biosynthesis in apple skin.

UDP-galactose:flavonoid 3-O-galactosyltransferase (UFGalT) is responsible for cyanidin 3-galactoside (cy3-gal) synthesis from cyanidin (cy) and UDP-galactose (UDP-gal) which are, respectively, catalyzed by anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) and UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (UGE). To clarify the contribution of UDP-galactose pathway to cy3-gal accumulation in apple skin, we analyzed the contents of UDP-gal and UDP-glucose (UDP-glu), cy, and, cy3-gal contents along with UGE activity. We confirmed that transcript levels for apple ANS and UDP-glucose: flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT) coincided with anthocyanin accumulation in three apple cultivars differing in their skin colors. During fruit development, changes in level of cy coincided with that of cy3-gal, whereas UDP-gal and UGE activity showed no similar trend with cy3-gal. Significant correlation was not observed between the changes in UGE activity and UDP-sugar contents. The effect of temperature and UV-B radiation (different environmental conditions) on the accumulation of UDP-sugars, cy and cy3-gal, and UGE activity were also investigated in a pale-red cultivar. High temperature tended to depress the accumulation of both UDP-sugars and cy concomitant with the decrease in cy3-gal content irrespective of UV-B radiation. Although there was no high inhibition of both cy and UDP-sugars at low-temperature without UV-B, cy3-gal accumulation was highly depressed. UGE activity was highest at low temperature with UV-B, but not much different under other conditions. Most of the parameters under different environmental conditions were significantly correlated with each other. Based on these results, contribution of UDP-sugar biosynthetic pathway to anthocyanin biosynthesis under different environmental conditions as well as during fruit development is discussed.

Isolation and functional analysis of a MYB transcription factor gene that is a key regulator for the development of red coloration in apple skin.

Red coloration of apple (Malus x domestica) skin is an important determinant of consumer preference and marketability. Anthocyanins are responsible for this coloration, and their accumulation is positively correlated with the expression level of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Regulation of expression of these genes is believed to be controlled by MYB transcription factors, and the MYB transcription factors involved in the activation of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes have been isolated in various plants. In the present study, we isolated and characterized a MYB transcription factor gene (MdMYBA) from apple skin. Characterization of MdMYBA demonstrated that (i) MdMYBA expression was specifically regulated depending on the tissue and cultivar/species; (ii) its expression level was much higher in a deep-red cultivar ('Jonathan') than in a pale-red cultivar ('Tsugaru'); (iii) when cauliflower mosaic virus 35S::MdMYBA was introduced into the cotyledons of apple seedlings by means of a transient assay, reddish-purple spots were induced, and MdMYBA also induced anthocyanin accumulation in reproductive tissues of transgenic tobacco; (iv) the expression of MdMYBA was induced by UV-B irradiation and low-temperature treatment, both of which are known to be important in the promotion of anthocyanin accumulation in apple skin; (v) MdMYBA bound specifically to an anthocyanidin synthase (MdANS) promoter region in a gel-shift assay; and (vi) MdMYBA was mapped to the near region of the BC226-STS (a1) marker for the red skin color locus (R(f)). These results suggest that MdMYBA is a key regulatory gene in anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple skin.

Suppression subtractive hybridization identifies genes induced in response to UV-B irradiation in apple skin: isolation of a putative UDP-glucose 4-epimerase.

Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) successfully identified 11 cDNAs in apple skin with highly induced expression as a result of ultraviolet (UV)-B irradiation. Apart from three putative flavonoid biosynthetic genes, chalcone synthase (CHS; A5C), flavanone-3-hydroxylase (F3H; B5F), and flavonol synthase (FLS; D1F), five clones (A1H, A10E, B11G, D5F, and D11H) were induced by low temperature (17 degrees C) as well, which is also known to induce anthocyanin accumulation in apple skin. Moreover, four clones (A1H, A10E, B11G, and D11H), showing higher expression levels in the skin, accumulated higher anthocyanin concentrations than their counterparts. Of the four clones, only A10E, a putative UDP-glucose 4-epimerase (UGE), was deemed to play an important role in anthocyanin accumulation in apple skin based on the facts that: (i) its transcription level was higher in the deep red cultivar, 'Jonathan', than in the pale red cultivar, 'Tsugaru'; and (ii) it could reversibly catalyse UDP-glucose to UDP-galactose, and the latter molecule is a major sugar donor for cyanidin-glycoside in apple. Therefore, the full-length cDNA of A10E was isolated by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and designated as MdUGE1. Further analysis demonstrated that UGE enzymatic activity was positively correlated with anthocyanin accumulation in apple skin. Thus, MdUGE1 isolated by SSH could play an important role in anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple skin in concert with other flavonoid biosynthetic genes.

Development of a CAPS marker system for genotyping European pear cultivars harboring 17 S alleles.

The full-length cDNAs of eight S ribonucleases (S-RNases) were cloned from stylar RNA of European pear cultivars that could not be characterized by the cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) marker system for genotyping European pear cultivars harboring nine S alleles Sa, Sb, Sd, Se, Sh, Sk, Sl, Sq, and Sr. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences between these cDNAs and six putative S-RNase alleles previously amplified by genomic PCR revealed that five corresponded to the putative Sc-, Si-, Sm-, Sn-, and Sp-RNase alleles and the other three corresponded new S-RNase alleles (designated as putative Sg-, Ss-, and St-RNase alleles). Genomic PCR with a new set of primers was used to amplify 17 S-RNase alleles: 1906 bp (Sg), 1642 bp (St), 1414 bp (Sl), ca. 1.3 kb (Sk and Sq), 998 bp (Se), 440 bp (Sb), and ca. 350 bp (Sa, Sc, Sd, Sh, Si, Sm, Sn, Sp, Sr, and Ss). Among them, S-RNase alleles of similar size were discriminated by digestion with 11 restriction endo-nucleases. The PCR amplification of 17 S-RNase alleles following digestion with the restriction endonucleases provided a new CAPS marker system for rapid S-genotyping of European pear cultivars harboring 17 S alleles. Using the CAPS analysis, Sc, Sg, Si, Sm, Sn, Sp, Ss, and St alleles were found in 32 cultivars, which were classified into 23 S-genotypes.