Yao Xingwei, Zhang Qi, Chen Haidong, Ge Xianhong, Guo Yangdong, Chen Daozong
Department of Vegetables, College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Tianjin, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2024 Dec 3;15:1460914. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1460914. eCollection 2024.
Cauliflower is widely cultivated all over the world is attributed to its palatable flavor, high levels of anti-cancer compounds, and diverse array of nutrients. Exposure to extremely cold stress during production can result in a more frequent occurrence of purple discoloration in cauliflower curds. In response to cold stress, plants naturally produce anthocyanins to eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated as a defense mechanism.
This research involved conducting mRNA sequencing analysis on cauliflower curds both before and after exposure to cold stress treatment.
It was determined that the up-regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes , and occurred significantly in response to cold stress, resulting in a significant increase in total anthocyanin content. Subsequently, miRNA sequencing was employed to identify miRNAs in cauliflower curds, followed by differential expression analysis. The results showed that Bna-miR289 and Ath-miR157a may play a key role in regulating the accumulation of anthocyanin in cauliflower curds. Furthermore, we utilized degradome sequencing data to predict the target genes of the identified miRNAs, resulting in the identification of and as targets. Subsequently, the expression patterns of the miRNAs and their target genes were validated using qRT-PCR, the results showed that Ath-miR157a and its target genes and may be the key to the purple of cauliflower curds under cold stress.
Our preliminary findings identified key miRNAs and their target genes that may be involved in regulating anthocyanin synthesis, thereby enhancing the cold tolerance of cauliflower through mRNA, miRNA, and degradome sequencing. Overall, our study sheds light on the activation of anthocyanin synthesis in flower curds under cold stress conditions as a mechanism to enhance resilience to adverse environmental conditions.
菜花因其美味的口感、高含量的抗癌化合物和多种营养成分而在全球广泛种植。在生产过程中暴露于极端寒冷胁迫下会导致菜花菜头更频繁地出现紫色变色。作为对冷胁迫的响应，植物会自然产生花青素以消除作为防御机制产生的活性氧（ROS）。
本研究对冷胁迫处理前后的菜花菜头进行了mRNA测序分析。
确定花青素生物合成相关基因、和在冷胁迫下显著上调，导致总花青素含量显著增加。随后，采用miRNA测序来鉴定菜花菜头中的miRNA，接着进行差异表达分析。结果表明，Bna-miR289和Ath-miR157a可能在调节菜花菜头中花青素的积累中起关键作用。此外，我们利用降解组测序数据预测已鉴定miRNA的靶基因，结果鉴定出和为靶标。随后，使用qRT-PCR验证了miRNA及其靶基因的表达模式，结果表明Ath-miR157a及其靶基因和可能是冷胁迫下菜花菜头变紫的关键。
我们的初步研究结果确定了可能参与调节花青素合成的关键miRNA及其靶基因，从而通过mRNA、miRNA和降解组测序提高了菜花的耐寒性。总体而言，我们的研究揭示了冷胁迫条件下花菜头中花青素合成的激活作为增强对不利环境条件恢复力的一种机制。
