Anthocyanin Metabolite and Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis Reveals White Flowers in <i>Rhododendron dauricum</i> var. <i>albiflorum</i>
2023
Huaizhi Mu | Xuhong Jin | Yue Zhang | Lin Lin
<i>Rhododendron dauricum</i> is a cold-hardy shrub integrating ornamental, medicinal, and aromatic functions. Flower color is an important feature related to ornamental value for breeders and consumers. Nevertheless, the coloration mechanism of flower color in <i>R. dauricum</i> is still unclear. <i>R. dauricum</i> var. <i>albiflorum</i> is a white flower variety of <i>R. dauricum</i>. In this study, an integrative analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome was conducted between <i>R. dauricum</i> var. <i>albiflorum</i> and <i>R. dauricum</i>. A total of nine anthocyanins and two proanthocyanidins were differentially accumulated between <i>R. dauricum</i> var. <i>albiflorum</i> and <i>R. dauricum</i>. A decrease in malvidin-, delphinidin-, cyanidin-, peonidin-, and petunidin-based anthocyanins and an increase in procyanidin A2 and procyanidin B2 were responsible for the white flowers of <i>R. dauricum</i> var. <i>albiflorum</i>. Furthermore, a total of 4376 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using transcriptome sequencing. Integrated analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome showed that 21 DEGs encoding 9 enzymes (PAL, C4H, CHS, CHI, F3H, F3′5′H, DFR, ANR, and UFGT) were identified as structural genes involved in anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis, and 15 MYBs and 10 bHLHs were the transcriptional regulators of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathways in <i>R. dauricum</i> var. <i>albiflorum</i>. Our results deepen the understanding of variations in azalea flower color, which is helpful for identifying important genes in the genetic engineering of azalea shrubs.
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