Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), Research Division Portici, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via Università 133, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jun 20;25(12):6811. doi: 10.3390/ijms25126811.
Anthocyanins are a large group of water-soluble flavonoid pigments. These specialized metabolites are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom and play an essential role not only in plant reproduction and dispersal but also in responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Anthocyanins are recognized as important health-promoting and chronic-disease-preventing components in the human diet. Therefore, interest in developing food crops with improved levels and compositions of these important nutraceuticals is growing. This review focuses on work conducted to elucidate the genetic control of the anthocyanin pathway and modulate anthocyanin content in eggplant ( L.) and tomato ( L.), two solanaceous fruit vegetables of worldwide relevance. While anthocyanin levels in eggplant fruit have always been an important quality trait, anthocyanin-based, purple-fruited tomato cultivars are currently a novelty. As detailed in this review, this difference in the anthocyanin content of the cultivated germplasm has largely influenced genetic studies as well as breeding and transgenic approaches to improve the anthocyanin content/profile of these two important solanaceous crops. The information provided should be of help to researchers and breeders in devising strategies to address the increasing consumer demand for nutraceutical foods.
花色苷是一大类水溶性类黄酮色素。这些特殊的代谢产物在植物界中无处不在，不仅在植物繁殖和传播中起着至关重要的作用，而且在应对生物和非生物胁迫方面也起着重要的作用。花色苷被认为是人类饮食中促进健康和预防慢性病的重要营养成分。因此，人们越来越感兴趣地开发具有改善水平和组成的这些重要营养成分的粮食作物。本综述重点介绍了为阐明花色苷途径的遗传控制并调节茄子（L.）和番茄（L.）中花色苷含量而开展的工作，茄子和番茄是两种具有全球重要性的茄科水果蔬菜。虽然茄子果实中的花色苷水平一直是一个重要的质量性状，但基于花色苷的紫色果实番茄品种目前是一种新颖的品种。正如本综述中详细介绍的那样，栽培种质中花色苷含量的这种差异在很大程度上影响了遗传研究以及培育和转基因方法，以提高这两种重要茄科作物的花色苷含量/谱。提供的信息应该有助于研究人员和培育者制定策略，以满足消费者对营养食品日益增长的需求。
