Deng Xinyan, Hu Chao, Xie Chengzhi, Lu Aixian, Luo Yibo, Peng Tao, Huang Weichang
School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China.
Eastern China Conservation Centre for Wild Endangered Plant Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai 201602, China.
Plants (Basel). 2023 May 22;12(10):2058. doi: 10.3390/plants12102058.
Food-deceptive flowers primarily use visual signals (such as color) to mimic model plants and deceive insects into achieving pollination. is a food-deceptive orchid that has a pink labellum and two purple petals with a yellow base and has been proven to be pollinated by bumblebees. However, the chemical and molecular bases of the floral color are not well understood. We conducted targeted metabolite profiling and transcriptomic analysis to determine the color signal and its genetic basis in . We found that both anthocyanins and carotenoids contribute significantly to the formation of floral color that determines the color signal. Higher concentrations of anthocyanins (cyanidin and peonidin) and carotenoids (primarily lutein and zeaxanthin) were detected in the petal compared to the labellum. The upregulation of structural genes of , ', and on the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway in petals was identified, as well as three genes of , , and on the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, we discovered that three and one transcription factors were co-expressed with the expression of different genes. These genes and transcription factors may be responsible for the spatial color difference of . Our study emphasizes that the color of this food-deceptive orchids is achieved through specific genes and transcription factors associated with the pigment biosynthesis pathway.
食源性欺骗性花朵主要利用视觉信号（如颜色）来模仿模式植物，诱骗昆虫实现授粉。[此处缺失兰花名称]是一种具有粉色唇瓣和两片紫色花瓣（基部为黄色）的食源性欺骗性兰花，已被证明由大黄蜂授粉。然而，花色的化学和分子基础尚不清楚。我们进行了靶向代谢物谱分析和转录组分析，以确定[此处缺失兰花名称]的颜色信号及其遗传基础。我们发现花青素和类胡萝卜素都对决定颜色信号的花色形成有显著贡献。与唇瓣相比，花瓣中检测到更高浓度的花青素（矢车菊素和芍药素）和类胡萝卜素（主要是叶黄素和玉米黄质）。我们鉴定出花瓣中花青素生物合成途径上的结构基因[此处缺失基因名称]、[此处缺失基因名称]、[此处缺失基因名称]和[此处缺失基因名称]以及类胡萝卜素生物合成途径上的三个基因[此处缺失基因名称]、[此处缺失基因名称]和[此处缺失基因名称]的上调。此外，我们发现三个[此处缺失转录因子名称]和一个[此处缺失转录因子名称]转录因子与不同基因的表达共表达。这些基因和转录因子可能导致了[此处缺失兰花名称]的空间颜色差异。我们的研究强调，这种食源性欺骗性兰花的颜色是通过与色素生物合成途径相关的特定基因和转录因子实现的。
