Novel transgenic rice overexpressing anthocyanidin synthase accumulates a mixture of flavonoids leading to an increased antioxidant potential

In addition to their plant-associated functions, flavonoids act as antioxidants against harmful free radicals in animals. Genetic engineering of food crops for a mix of antioxidant flavonoids is highly beneficial in promoting human health. Anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) is one of the four dioxygenases (DOX) of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway that catalyzes the formation of anthocyanidins from leucoanthocyanidins. To investigate whether ANS mediates different DOX reactions of the pathway and produces a mix of flavonoids, the rice ANS cDNA was cloned and overexpressed in a rice mutant Nootripathu (NP). This mutant accumulates proanthocyanidins exclusively in pericarp and absolutely no anthocyanins in any tissue. In silico sequence analysis revealed that ANS contains a double-stranded beta helix and shows high sequence similarity with other DOXs of the pathway including flavonol synthase, flavonone 3beta-hydroxylase and flavone synthase I. Bacterially expressed ANS protein converted dihydroquercetin to quercetin and Pro(35S):ANS complemented the maize a2 mutant in producing anthocyanins in aleurone, suggesting that ANS functions as a DOX with different flavonoid substrates. Similarly, transgenic NP plants overexpressing Pro(MAS):ANS channeled the proanthocaynidin precursors to the production of anthocyanins in pericarp. Transgenics showed approximately ten and four-fold increase in the ANS transcripts and enzyme activity, respectively. As a result, these plants showed an increased accumulation of a mixture of flavonoids and anthocyanins, with a concomitant decrease in proanthocyanidins, suggesting that ANS may act directly on different flavonoid substrates of DOX reactions. Thus, overexpression of ANS in a rice mutant resulted in novel transgenic rice with a mixture of flavonoids and an enhanced antioxidant potential.