A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition
Eggplant berries are rich in anthocyanins like delphinidin-3-rutinoside (D3R) and nasunin (NAS), which are accumulated at high amounts in the peel. NAS is derived by D3R through acylation and glycosylation steps. The presence of D3R or NAS is usually associated with black-purple or lilac fruit color...
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/17/9174 |
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| author | Francesco Elia Florio Stefano Gattolin Laura Toppino Laura Bassolino Marta Fibiani Roberto Lo Scalzo Giuseppe Leonardo Rotino |
| author_facet | Francesco Elia Florio Stefano Gattolin Laura Toppino Laura Bassolino Marta Fibiani Roberto Lo Scalzo Giuseppe Leonardo Rotino |
| author_sort | Francesco Elia Florio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Eggplant berries are rich in anthocyanins like delphinidin-3-rutinoside (D3R) and nasunin (NAS), which are accumulated at high amounts in the peel. NAS is derived by D3R through acylation and glycosylation steps. The presence of D3R or NAS is usually associated with black-purple or lilac fruit coloration of the most cultivated varieties, respectively. Building on QTL mapping position, a candidate gene approach was used to investigate the involvement of a BAHD anthocyanin acyltransferase (<i>SmelAAT</i>) in determining anthocyanin type. The cDNA sequence comparison revealed the presence of a single-base deletion in D3R-type line ‘305E40’ (<i>305E40_aat</i>) with respect to the NAS-type reference line ‘67/3’. This is predicted to cause a frame shift mutation, leading to a loss of <i>SmelAAT</i> function and, thus, D3R retention. RT-qPCR analyses confirmed <i>SmelAAT</i> and <i>305E40_aat</i> expression during berry maturation. In D3R-type lines, ‘305E40’ and ‘DR2’, overexpressing the functional <i>SmelAAT</i> allele from ‘67/3’, the transcript levels of the transgene correlated with the accumulation of NAS in fruit peel. Furthermore, it was also found a higher expression of the transcript for glucosyltransferase <i>Smel5GT1</i>, putatively involved with <i>SmelAAT</i> in the last steps of anthocyanin decoration. Finally, an indel marker matching with anthocyanin type in the ‘305E40’ × ’67/3’ segregating population was developed and validated in a wide number of accessions, proving its usefulness for breeding purposes. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:12:09Z |
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| spelling | doaj.art-df4f3feee9b24020a4b2371ff530f5042023-11-22T10:39:13ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672021-08-012217917410.3390/ijms22179174A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin CompositionFrancesco Elia Florio0Stefano Gattolin1Laura Toppino2Laura Bassolino3Marta Fibiani4Roberto Lo Scalzo5Giuseppe Leonardo Rotino6CREA, Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics, 26836 Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics, 26836 Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics, 26836 Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics, 26836 Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, 20133 Milan, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-Food Processing, 20133 Milan, ItalyCREA, Research Centre for Genomics and Bioinformatics, 26836 Montanaso Lombardo, ItalyEggplant berries are rich in anthocyanins like delphinidin-3-rutinoside (D3R) and nasunin (NAS), which are accumulated at high amounts in the peel. NAS is derived by D3R through acylation and glycosylation steps. The presence of D3R or NAS is usually associated with black-purple or lilac fruit coloration of the most cultivated varieties, respectively. Building on QTL mapping position, a candidate gene approach was used to investigate the involvement of a BAHD anthocyanin acyltransferase (<i>SmelAAT</i>) in determining anthocyanin type. The cDNA sequence comparison revealed the presence of a single-base deletion in D3R-type line ‘305E40’ (<i>305E40_aat</i>) with respect to the NAS-type reference line ‘67/3’. This is predicted to cause a frame shift mutation, leading to a loss of <i>SmelAAT</i> function and, thus, D3R retention. RT-qPCR analyses confirmed <i>SmelAAT</i> and <i>305E40_aat</i> expression during berry maturation. In D3R-type lines, ‘305E40’ and ‘DR2’, overexpressing the functional <i>SmelAAT</i> allele from ‘67/3’, the transcript levels of the transgene correlated with the accumulation of NAS in fruit peel. Furthermore, it was also found a higher expression of the transcript for glucosyltransferase <i>Smel5GT1</i>, putatively involved with <i>SmelAAT</i> in the last steps of anthocyanin decoration. Finally, an indel marker matching with anthocyanin type in the ‘305E40’ × ’67/3’ segregating population was developed and validated in a wide number of accessions, proving its usefulness for breeding purposes.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/17/9174<i>Solanum melongena</i>eggplantanthocyaninfruit colorationmarker-assisted selection (MAS)delphinidin-3-rutinoside |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Elia Florio Stefano Gattolin Laura Toppino Laura Bassolino Marta Fibiani Roberto Lo Scalzo Giuseppe Leonardo Rotino A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition International Journal of Molecular Sciences <i>Solanum melongena</i> eggplant anthocyanin fruit coloration marker-assisted selection (MAS) delphinidin-3-rutinoside |
| title | A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition |
| title_full | A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition |
| title_fullStr | A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition |
| title_full_unstemmed | A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition |
| title_short | A <i>SmelAAT</i> Acyltransferase Variant Causes a Major Difference in Eggplant (<i>Solanum melongena</i> L.) Peel Anthocyanin Composition |
| title_sort | i smelaat i acyltransferase variant causes a major difference in eggplant i solanum melongena i l peel anthocyanin composition |
| topic | <i>Solanum melongena</i> eggplant anthocyanin fruit coloration marker-assisted selection (MAS) delphinidin-3-rutinoside |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/17/9174 |
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