Back to Search Start Over

15-cis-Phytoene Desaturase and 15-cis-Phytoene Synthase Can Catalyze the Synthesis of β-Carotene and Influence the Color of Apricot Pulp

Authors :
Ningning Gou
Xuchun Zhu
Mingyu Yin
Han Zhao
Haikun Bai
Nan Jiang
Wanyu Xu
Chu Wang
Yujing Zhang
Tana Wuyun
Source :
Foods, Vol 13, Iss 2, p 300 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Fruit color affects its commercial value. β-carotene is the pigment that provides color for many fruits and vegetables. However, the molecular mechanism of β-carotene metabolism during apricot ripening is largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether β-carotene content affects apricot fruit color. First, the differences in β-carotene content between orange apricot ‘JTY’ and white apricot ‘X15’ during nine developmental stages (S1–S9) were compared. β-carotene contents highly significantly differed between ‘JTY’ and ‘X15’ from S5 (color transition stage) onwards. Whole-transcriptome analysis showed that the β-carotene synthesis genes 15-cis-phytoene desaturase (PaPDS) and 15-cis-phytoene synthase (PaPSY) significantly differed between the two cultivars during the color transition stage. There was a 5 bp deletion in exon 11 of PaPDS in ‘X15’, which led to early termination of amino acid translation. Gene overexpression and virus-induced silencing analysis showed that truncated PaPDS disrupted the β-carotene biosynthesis pathway in apricot pulp, resulting in decreased β-carotene content and a white phenotype. Furthermore, virus-induced silencing analysis showed that PaPSY was also a key gene in β-carotene biosynthesis. These findings provide new insights into the molecular regulation of apricot carotenoids and provide a theoretical reference for breeding new cultivars of apricot.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
23048158
Volume :
13
Issue :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Foods
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.3f436d8e851742ceb616b8c26845dc2a
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13020300