Abstract
Anthocyanins and melanins are phenolic pigments of plants and accumulate in seed envelopes of the barley grain, thereby giving them a blue, purple, or black color. To explore the effects of combined accumulation of anthocyanins and melanins in the grain, a barley near-isogenic line (NIL), characterized by simultaneous accumulation in both pigments, was developed using a marker-assisted approach. The presence of both pigments in the grain pericarp was evaluated by light microscopy. Emergence of anthocyanin pigmentation proved to be temporally separated from that of melanin, and the formation of anthocyanin pigments began at an earlier stage of spike maturation. During spike maturation, a significantly higher total anthocyanin content was noted in the created NIL than in the parental anthocyanin-accumulating NIL, indicating a positive influence of the Blp1 gene on the anthocyanin content at some developmental stages. In a comparative analysis of yield components, it was found that the observed differences between the barley NILs are possibly caused by environmental factors, and the presence of pigments does not decrease plant productivity. Our results should facilitate investigation into genetic mechanisms underlying overlaps in the biosynthesis of pigments and into breeding strategies aimed at the enrichment of barley varieties with polyphenols.
Highlights
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most cultivated grain crops in the world, ranked fourth after rice, wheat, and maize [1]
Phenolic compounds found in barley such as cinnamic and benzoic acid derivatives, proanthocyanidins, flavonols, flavanones, flavones, anthocyanins, and melanins are strong antioxidants, which serve as free-radical scavengers, reducers of pro-oxidant metals, and quenchers of singlet oxygen formation [5,6,7]
To develop the barley near-isogenic line (NIL) characterized by simultaneous accumulation of anthocyanins and melanins in seed envelopes, two NILs obtained in the spring with a cv
Summary
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most cultivated grain crops in the world, ranked fourth after rice, wheat, and maize [1]. Phenolic compounds found in barley such as cinnamic and benzoic acid derivatives, proanthocyanidins, flavonols, flavanones, flavones, anthocyanins, and melanins are strong antioxidants, which serve as free-radical scavengers, reducers of pro-oxidant metals, and quenchers of singlet oxygen formation [5,6,7]. These compounds are secondary metabolites and are involved in plant growth and protection from unfavorable conditions such as the cold, drought, UV radiation, and pathogen invasion [8,9,10,11]. It has been demonstrated that in addition to their major role in plant vigor, antioxidants in the context of long-term dietary consumption can have antitumor, anti-inflammatory, neuroregenerative, blood lipid–lowering, and hypoglycemic effects on human health [12,13,14,15,16]
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