Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, CB2 3EA, Cambridge, UK.
BMC Genomics. 2022 Nov 9;23(1):739. doi: 10.1186/s12864-022-08947-1.
Here we respond to Zhou (BMC Genomics 21:734, 2020) "Combined Transcriptome and Metabolome analysis of Pitaya fruit unveiled the mechanisms underlying peel and pulp color formation" published in BMC Genomics. Given the evolutionary conserved anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway in betalain-pigmented species, we are open to the idea that species with both anthocyanins and betalains might exist. However, in absence of LC-MS/MS spectra, apparent lack of biological replicates, and no comparison to authentic standards, the findings of Zhou (BMC Genomics 21:734, 2020) are not a strong basis to propose the presence of anthocyanins in betalain-pigmented pitaya. In addition, our re-analysis of the datasets indicates the misidentification of important genes and the omission of key flavonoid and anthocyanin synthesis genes ANS and DFR. Finally, our re-analysis of the RNA-Seq dataset reveals no correlation between anthocyanin biosynthesis gene expression and pigment status.
我们针对 Zhou 在 BMC 基因组学（2020 年，21：734）发表的“火龙果果皮和果肉颜色形成机制的转录组和代谢组联合分析”一文做出回应。鉴于甜菜红素类物质合成途径在花色苷合成途径中具有保守性，我们同意在既含有花色苷又含有甜菜红素的物种中可能存在这种情况的观点。然而，由于缺乏 LC-MS/MS 图谱、明显缺乏生物学重复以及没有与真实标准进行比较，Zhou（BMC Genomics 21：734，2020）的研究结果并不能为花色苷类火龙果中存在花色苷提供强有力的依据。此外，我们对数据集的重新分析表明，重要基因的鉴定错误以及关键类黄酮和花色苷合成基因 ANS 和 DFR 的缺失。最后，我们对 RNA-Seq 数据集的重新分析表明，花色苷生物合成基因表达与色素状态之间没有相关性。
