© 2004 Oxford University Press
Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase cDNA from non-Anthocyanin-Producing Species in the Caryophyllales
Department of Biology, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 112-8610 Japan
Two types of red pigment, anthocyanins and betacyanins, never occur together in the same plant. Although anthocyanins are widely distributed in higher plants as flower and fruit pigments, betacyanins have replaced anthocyanins in the Caryophyllales. We isolated cDNAs encoding dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), which is the first enzyme committed to anthocyanin biosynthesis in the flavonoid pathway, from Spinacia oleracea and Phytolacca americana, plants that belong to the Caryophyllales. The deduced amino acid sequence of Spinacia DFR and Phytolacca DFR revealed a high degree of homology with DFRs of anthocyanin-producing plants. The DFR of carnation, an exception in the Caryophyllales that synthesizes anthocyanin, showed the highest level of identity. In the phylogenetic tree, Spinacia DFR and Phytolacca DFR clustered with the DFRs of anthocyanin-synthesizing dicots. Recombinant Spinacia and Phytolacca DFRs expressed in Escherichia coli convert dihydroflavonol to leucoanthocyanidin. The expression and function of DFR in spinach and pokeweed are discussed in relation to the molecular evolution of red pigment biosynthesis in higher plants.
1 Corresponding author: E-mail, msakuta{at}cc.ocha.ac.jp; Fax, +81-3-5978-5712.
![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
K. Yoshida, R. Iwasaka, T. Kaneko, S. Sato, S. Tabata, and M. Sakuta Functional Differentiation of Lotus japonicus TT2s, R2R3-MYB Transcription Factors Comprising a Multigene Family Plant Cell Physiol., February 1, 2008; 49(2): 157 - 169. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Shimada, H. Otsuki, and M. Sakuta Transcriptional control of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes in the Caryophyllales J. Exp. Bot., March 1, 2007; 58(5): 957 - 967. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. Shimada, R. Sasaki, S. Sato, T. Kaneko, S. Tabata, T. Aoki, and S.-i. Ayabe A comprehensive analysis of six dihydroflavonol 4-reductases encoded by a gene cluster of the Lotus japonicus genome J. Exp. Bot., September 1, 2005; 56(419): 2573 - 2585. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||

