Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) is an economically important ornamental crop across the globe. As floral color is the major factor determining customer selection, manipulation of floral color has been a major objective for breeders. Anthocyanins are one of the main pigments contributing to a broad variety of colors in the ray florets of chrysanthemum. Manipulating petal pigments has resulted in the development of a vast range of floral colors. Although the candidate genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis have been well studied, the genetic and transcriptional control of floral color remains unclear. Despite advances in multi-omics technology, these methods remain in their infancy in chrysanthemum, owing to its large complex genome and hexaploidy. Hence, there is a need to further elucidate and better understand the genetic and molecular regulatory mechanisms in chrysanthemum, which can provide a basis for future advances in breeding for novel and diverse floral colors in this commercially beneficial crop. Therefore, this review describes the significance of anthocyanins in chrysanthemum flowers, and the mechanism of anthocyanin biosynthesis under genetic and environmental factors, providing insight into the development of novel colored ray florets. Genetic and molecular regulatory mechanisms that control anthocyanin biosynthesis and the various breeding efforts to modify floral color in chrysanthemum are detailed.
Keywords: breeding; genetic manipulation; ornamental plants; petal color; plant pigments.