Volume 47, Issue 9 pp. 1107-1114
Free Access

Expression Analysis of Dihydroflavonol 4-Reductase Genes Involved in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Purple Grains of Wheat

Mao-Sen LIU

Mao-Sen LIU

Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University , Taian, Shandong 271018, China

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Fang WANG

Fang WANG

Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University , Taian, Shandong 271018, China

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Yu-Xiu DONG

Yu-Xiu DONG

Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University , Taian, Shandong 271018, China

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Xian-Sheng ZHANG

Corresponding Author

Xian-Sheng ZHANG

Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University , Taian, Shandong 271018, China

*Author for correspondence. Tel: +86 (0)538 824 9418; Fax: +86 (0)538 822 6399; E-mail: 〈[email protected]〉.Search for more papers by this author
First published: 30 August 2005
Citations: 12

Supported by the National Special Program for Research and Industrialization of Transgenic Plants (JY-03-A-02); the State Key Basic Research and Development Plan of China (G19990116) and the Hi-Tech Research and Development (863) Program of China (2004AA212131).

Abstract

Abstract: The grain color of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important characteristic in crop production. Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase genes (DFR) encode the key enzyme dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, which is involved in the pigmentation of plant tissues. To investigate the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin deposition in grains of wheat, we determined the expression of the wheat DFR gene in purple grains of cultivar Heimai 76. The results showed that DFR transcripts were localized in the seed coat of purple grains rather than in the pericarp, whereas anthocyanins were accumulated in both tissues of purple grains, suggesting that anthocyanin deposition was mainly regulated at the transcriptional level. Overexpression of the TaDFR-A gene in Arabidopsis showed that TaDFR-A was responsible for the pigmentation of Arabidopsis plant tissues, indicating TaDFR-A gene has the same role in Arabidopsis.

(Managing editor: Li-Hui ZHAO)

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