Abstract
Anthocyanin in strawberries has a positive effect on fruit coloration. In this study, the role of exogenous hematin on anthocyanin biosynthesis was investigated. Our result showed that the white stage of strawberries treated with exogenous hematin had higher anthocyanin content, compared to the control group. Among all treatments, 5 μM of hematin was the optimal condition to promote color development. In order to explore the molecular mechanism of fruit coloring regulated by hematin, transcriptomes in the hematin- and non-hematin-treated fruit were analyzed. A large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in regulating anthocyanin synthesis, including the DEGs involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, hormone signaling transduction, phytochrome signaling, starch and sucrose degradation, and transcriptional pathways. These regulatory networks may play an important role in regulating the color process of strawberries treated with hematin. In summary, exogenous hematin could promote fruit coloring by increasing anthocyanin content in the white stage of strawberries. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis suggests that hematin-promoted fruit coloring occurs through multiple related metabolic pathways, which provides valuable information for regulating fruit color via anthocyanin biosynthesis in strawberries.
Highlights
Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is one of the most popular fruits with global economic importance [1]
We measured the expression of FaHO-1 and the content of biliverdin (BV) which is the metabolite of heme oxygenase
We found that hematin could significantly increase the expression of FaHO-1 in strawberry fruit (Figure 4) and promote the accumulation of BV (Figure 2)
Summary
Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is one of the most popular fruits with global economic importance [1]. Because of its appealing red coloration and abundant nutrition, strawberries are highly sought after by consumers [2, 3]. These qualities are partially due to the high anthocyanin content in strawberry. Anthocyanins have a high antioxidant activity [4]. Research suggests that anthocyanins have potential health benefits for a variety of conditions including cardiovascular disorders, advanced age-induced oxidative stress, inflammatory response [5], and diverse degenerative diseases [6, 7]. Increasing anthocyanin content in strawberries has been a relevant research topic in recent years
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