Metabolome integrated with transcriptome reveals the mechanism of three different color formations in Taxus mairei arils

Yadan Yan; Yafeng Wen; Ye Wang; Xingtong Wu; Xinyu Li; Chuncheng Wang; Yanghui Zhao

doi:10.3389/fpls.2024.1330075

Metabolome integrated with transcriptome reveals the mechanism of three different color formations in Taxus mairei arils

Front Plant Sci. 2024 Jan 23:15:1330075. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1330075. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yadan Yan^{1

2

3}, Yafeng Wen^{1

2

3}, Ye Wang¹, Xingtong Wu^{1

2

3}, Xinyu Li^{1

2

3}, Chuncheng Wang^{1

2

3}, Yanghui Zhao^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China.
² Hunan Big Data Engineering Technology Research Center of Natural Protected Areas Landscape Resources, Changsha, China.
³ Yuelushan Laboratory Carbon Sinks Forests Variety Innovation Center, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Maire yew (Taxus mairei), an evergreen conifer, has high ornamental and medicinal value. The arils of this species has three different colors. However, the variation mechanisms of arils color formation remains unclear. Here, the gene expression and metabolite concentration were profiled for red (RTM), yellow (YTM), and purple (PTM) arils in different developmental stages. A total of 266 flavonoids and 35 carotenoids were identified. The predominant pigments identified in YTM were epiafzelechin, lutein, and β-Cryptoxanthin, while malvidin-3,5-di-O-glucoside and apigenin played crucial roles in PTM. And significant differential expression was observed among the HCT, DFR, LAR, ANS, crtB, NCED, and CCoAOMT genes across different color arils. During the maturation of yellow arils, the upregulation of HCT was strongly correlated with the accumulation of epiafzelechin. The diminished expression of DFR, LAR, and ANS seemed to inhibit the production of delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside. The decrease in crtB expression and concurrent increase in NCED expression potentially regulate the heightened accumulation of lutein. Meanwhile, the accumulation of β-cryptoxanthin appeared seemed to be positively influenced by NCED. As aril turning purple, the decreased expression of CCoAOMT seemed to facilitate the synthesis of apigenin. The substantial upregulation of DFR promoted the production of malvidin-3,5-di-O-glucoside. Additionally, the overexpression of MYBs may plays the important role in regulating the formation of different colored arils. In total, 14 genes were selected for qRT-PCR validation, the results indicated the reliability of the transcriptome sequences data. Our findings could provide valuable insight into the molecular breeding, development, and application of Maire yew resources.

Keywords: Maire yew; aril color; carotenoid; differentially expressed genes; flavonoid; transcription factors.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Double First-class Initiative Cultivation Discipline in Hunan Province (Grant No. 2018469).