Metabolomic Analysis and Differential Expression of Anthocyanin Biosynthetic Genes in White- and Red-Flowered Buckwheat Cultivars (Fagopyrum esculentum)

摘要

Red-flowered buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is used in the production of tea, juice, and alcohols after the detoxification of fagopyrin. In order to investigate the metabolomics and regulatory of anthocyanin production in red-flowered (Gan-Chao) and white-flowered (Tanno) buckwheat cultivars, quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS), and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were conducted. The transcriptions of FePAL, FeC4H, Fe4CL1, FeF3H, FeANS, and FeDFR increased gradually from flowering stage 1 and reached their highest peaks at flowering stage 3 in Gan-Chao flower. In total 44 metabolites, 18 amino acids, 15 organic acids, 7 sugars, 3 sugar alcohols, and 1 amine were detected in Gan-Chao flowers. Two anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside and cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside, were identified in Gan-Chao cultivar. The first component of the partial least-squares to latent structures-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) indicated that high amounts of phenolic, shikimic, and pyruvic acids were present in Gan-Chao. We suggest that transcriptions of genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, anthocyanin contents, and metabolites have correlation in the red-flowered buckwheat Gan-Chao flowers. Our results may be helpful to understand anthocyanin biosynthesis in red-flowered buckwheat.