Accumulation of anthocyanin and related genes expression during the development of cabbage seedlings

Abstract

In this study, we investigated anthocyanin accumulation and gene expression in response to light and dark conditions during the development of white and red cabbage seedlings. Two-day-old white cabbage seedlings expressed the highest transcript level for most of the genes under light conditions. Red cabbage also showed higher expression under light than under dark conditions, although gene expression (evaluated based on transcript levels normalized to that of a housekeeping gene) in 2-day-old red cabbage sprouts was much lower than that in the corresponding white cabbage sprouts. Trends in anthocyanin accumulation were similar for red and white cabbage but much greater accumulation was observed in red cabbage. Anthocyanin levels were higher in seedlings grown under light conditions compared to those grown under dark conditions for both cabbage cultivars. Especially, red cabbage accumulated 1.94–4.05 times greater total anthocyanin in 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-day-old seedlings, when compared to white cabbage cultivar under light/dark and dark conditions. Our findings can improve understanding of the effects of light on accumulation of secondary metabolites in the seedling stages of various crops.