Dataset Information

Comparative analysis of carotenoid accumulation in two goji (Lycium barbarum L. and L. ruthenicum Murr.) fruits.

ABSTRACT: The traditional Chinese medicinal plants Lycium barbarum L. and L. ruthenicum Murr. are valued for the abundance of bioactive carotenoids and anthocyanins in their fruits, respectively. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to their species-specific bioactive profiles remain poorly understood.In this study, the red fruit (RF) of L. barbarum was found to accumulate high levels of carotenoids (primarily zeaxanthin), while they were undetectable in the black fruit (BF) of L. ruthenicum. Cytological and gene transcriptional analyses revealed that the chromoplast differentiation that occurs in the chloroplast during fruit ripening only occurs in RF, indicating that the lack of chromoplast biogenesis in BF leads to no sink for carotenoid storage and the failure to synthesize carotenoids. Similar enzyme activities of phytoene synthase 1 (PSY1), chromoplast-specific lycopene ?-cyclase (CYC-B) and ?-carotene hydroxylase 2 (CRTR-B2) were observed in both L. ruthenicum and L. barbarum, suggesting that the undetectable carotenoid levels in BF were not due to the inactivation of carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes. The transcript levels of the carotenoid biosynthetic genes, particularly PSY1, phytoene desaturase (PDS), ?-carotene desaturase (ZDS), CYC-B and CRTR-B2, were greatly increased during RF ripening, indicating increased zeaxanthin biosynthesis. Additionally, carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 (CCD4) was expressed at much higher levels in BF than in RF, suggesting continuous carotenoid degradation in BF.The failure of the chromoplast development in BF causes low carotenoid biosynthesis levels and continuous carotenoid degradation, which ultimately leads to undetectable carotenoid levels in ripe BF. In contrast, the successful chromoplast biogenesis in RF furnishes the sink necessary for carotenoid storage. Based on this observation, the abundant zeaxanthin accumulation in RF is primarily determined via both the large carotenoid biosynthesis levels and the lack of carotenoid degradation, which are regulated at the transcriptional level.

SUBMITTER: Liu Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4276078 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparative analysis of carotenoid accumulation in two goji (Lycium barbarum L. and L. ruthenicum Murr.) fruits.

Liu Yongliang Y Zeng Shaohua S Sun Wei W Wu Min M Hu Weiming W Shen Xiaofei X Wang Ying Y

BMC plant biology 20141216

<h4>Background</h4>The traditional Chinese medicinal plants Lycium barbarum L. and L. ruthenicum Murr. are valued for the abundance of bioactive carotenoids and anthocyanins in their fruits, respectively. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to their species-specific bioactive profiles remain poorly understood.<h4>Results</h4>In this study, the red fruit (RF) of L. barbarum was found to accumulate high levels of carotenoids (primarily zeaxanthin), while they were undetecta ...[more]

PMID: 25511605

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Project description:Goji berries have been used as food and medicine for millennia. Due to their high morphological similarity, fruits of two distinct species belonging to the family Solanaceae, Lycium barbarum (LB) and Lycium chinense (Chinese boxthorn), are usually marketed together as goji berries, but nearly 90% of all commercially available goji berries belong to the former species. A third closely related species, a wild perennial thorny shrub native to north-western China, Lycium ruthenicum (LR; known as Russian box thorn, and its fruit as black wolfberry), has become a popular choice for combating soil desertification and for alleviating soil salinity/alkalinity due to its high resistance to the harsh environment of saline deserts. Despite the phylogenetic closeness of LB and LR, their fruits are very different. To identify the genes involved in these distinct phenotypes, here we studied expression patterns of 22 transcriptional regulators that may be crucial drivers of these differences during five developmental stages. BAM1 may contribute to higher sugar content in LB. High expression of BFRUCT in ripe LR is likely to be an evolutionary adaptation to fruit ripening in an arid environment. Two arogenate dehydratase paralogues, CHS and LDOX, are probably crucial elements of the mechanism by which LR accumulates much higher levels of anthocyanin. DXS2 (carotenoid accumulation in LB) and CCD4 (carotenoid degradation in ripe LR fruit) may be crucial drivers behind the much higher content of carotenoids in LB. EIL3 and ERF5 are two transcription factors that may contribute to the higher abiotic stress resilience of LR. GATA22-like appears to have more important roles in growth than ripening in LB fruit and vice versa in LR. HAT5-like exhibited opposite temporal patterns in two fruits: high in the 1st stage in LB and high in the 5th stage in LR. PED1 was expressed at a much lower level in LR. Finally, we hypothesise that the poorly functionally characterised SCL32 gene may play a part in the increased resistance to environmental stress of LR. We suggest that BAM1, BFRUCT, EIL3, ERF5, ADT paralogues (for functional redundancy), PED1, GATA22-like, HAT5-like and SCL32 warrant further functional studies.

Dataset Information

Comparative analysis of carotenoid accumulation in two goji (Lycium barbarum L. and L. ruthenicum Murr.) fruits.

Publications

Comparative analysis of carotenoid accumulation in two goji (Lycium barbarum L. and L. ruthenicum Murr.) fruits.

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