Identification of candidate genes involved in anthocyanin accumulation in the peel of jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) fruits by transcriptomic analysis

Jaboticaba is a grape-like fruit that accumulates high levels of anthocyanins in the peel and is proposed as a good source of functional pigments. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying anthocyanin accumulation in jaboticaba peel remains to be elucidated. In this study, we employed RNA-seq technique to compare the transcriptomic differences between green-colored and black-colored jaboticaba peels. Over 5 million high-quality reads were assembled into 62,190 unigenes with an average length of 737 bp, 29,320 (47.15%) of them were annotated by public databases. 2152 unigenes were found to be differentially expressed (830 upregulated and 1322 downregulated). Gene ontology analysis and pathway enrichment annotation revealed that 18 differentially expressed genes encode phenylalanine ammonialyase, 4-coumaroyl:CoA-ligase, chalcone synthase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase, flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase, anthocyanidin synthase, UDP-glucose: flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase, glutathione S-transferase, Cytochrome b5 were associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis. Additionally, 54 differentially expressed transcription factors were identified. Furthermore, the expression of genes involved in biosynthesis and signal transduction of ethylene and abscisic acid were negatively and positively correlated with that of anthocyanin pathway genes and anthocyanin accumulation, respectively. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis of candidate genes showed trends similar to those in the RNA-seq analysis. McMYB, a homolog of AtMYB113, induced anthocyanin accumulation in tobacco leaves when co-infiltrated PsbHLH3. These results will contribute to further understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating anthocyanin accumulation in jaboticaba peel.