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Transcriptome-based analysis reveals that the biosynthesis of anthocyanins is more active than that of flavonols and proanthocyanins in the colorful flowers of Lagerstroemia indica

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Abstract

Mechanisms associated with the control of flower color in crape myrtle varieties have yet to be sufficiently elucidated, which has tended to hamper the use of modern molecular and genetic strategies in the breeding programs for this plant. The whole transcriptome of four L. indica varieties characterized by different flower colors (white, light purple, deep purplish pink, and strong red) was sequenced, and we performed bioinformatic, quantitative PCR, and co-expression analyses of R2R3 MYB transcription factor and anthocyanin/flavonol pathway genes. We obtained a total of 49,980 transcripts with full-length coding sequences. Both transcriptome and qPCR analyses revealed that anthocyanin/flavonol pathway genes were differentially expressed among the four different flowers types, with the expression of LiPAL, LiCHS, LiCHI, LiDFR, LiANS/LDOX, and LiUFGT being induced in colorful flowers, whereas that of LiF3´5´H, LiFLS, and LiLAR was found to be inhibited. Base on phylogenetic analysis, seven R2R3 MYB transcriptional factors were identified as putative regulators of flower color. The molecular characteristics and co-expression patterns indicated that these MYBs differentially modulate their target genes, with two probably acting as activators, three as repressors, and one contributing to the regulation of vacuolar pH. The findings of this study indicate that the anthocyanin biosynthesis is more active than the flavonol and proanthocyanin in the colorful flowers. These observations provide new genomic information on L. indica and contribute gene resources for the flower color-targeted breeding of crape myrtle.

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Data accessibility

The data that support the findings of this study have been deposited into CNGB Sequence Archive (CNSA) of China National GeneBank DataBase (CNGBdb) with accession number CNP0001693.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Yuxing Cao (Nantong Museum), who assisted us in our investigation of L. indica germplasm resources.

Funding

Jian Zhang received funding from the Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu Province (BE201836); Chunmei Yu received funding from the Jiangsu Province Forestry Science and Technology Innovation and Promotion Project (LYKJ[2019]50) and Modern Agricultural Project of Nantong City (MS12020070); Bolin Lian received the Basic Research Project of Nantong City, China (Grant No. JC2020158); and Wei Fang received funding from the Innovation Program of Undergraduate Students of Jiangsu Province ( 201910304018).

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  1. Chunmei Yu and Bolin Lian have contributed equally to this research.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Landscape Plant Genetics and Breeding, School of Life Science, Nantong University, No. 9 Seyuan Road, Nantong, 226019, Jiangsu Province, China

    Chunmei Yu, Bolin Lian, Wei Fang, Anfang Guo, Yongchao Ke, Yuna Jiang, Yanhong Chen, Guoyuan Liu, Fei Zhong & Jian Zhang

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  1. Chunmei Yu
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Contributions

CY and BL performed transcriptome data analysis and prepared the manuscript; WF, AG, YK, and YJ acquired the data; YC, GL, and FZ participated in the drafting or revision of the manuscript; and JZ conceptualized the research.

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Correspondence to Jian Zhang.

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Yu, C., Lian, B., Fang, W. et al. Transcriptome-based analysis reveals that the biosynthesis of anthocyanins is more active than that of flavonols and proanthocyanins in the colorful flowers of Lagerstroemia indica. BIOLOGIA FUTURA 72, 473–488 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-021-00094-0

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