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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1448060

Multi-omics analysis provides insights into the mechanism underlying fruit color formation in Capsicum

Provisionally accepted
Zhao Song Zhao Song 1*Xiaowan Xu Xiaowan Xu 1*xiao chen xiao chen 1*Jingjing Chang Jingjing Chang 1*jing li jing li 1*Jiaowen Cheng Jiaowen Cheng 2*Baige Zhang Baige Zhang 1*
  • 1 Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Fruit color is a crucial attribute of fruit quality in peppers (Capsicum spp.). However, few studies have focused on the mechanism of color formation in immature pepper fruits. In this study, the lightyellow color observed in immature CSJ009 fruits compared to CSJ010 could be attributed to decreased chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments. Through integrated analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome of CSJ009 and CSJ010, we identified 23,930 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 345 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs). Furthermore, integrated analysis revealed a strong correlation between the HCT-like gene and metabolite MWS0178 (chlorogenic acid). Paraffin section assay revealed that the epidermal cells of immature CSJ010 fruits exhibited a more compact arrangement with significantly greater length than those of CSJ009. Quantitative determination of carotenoids showed that lutein emerged as the predominant carotenoid in immature pepper fruits.Additionally, missense mutation of LCYB2 is likely to lead to a decrease in β-carotene content in immature CSJ009 fruits, whereas CCS may directly catalyze the conversion of lycopene to β-carotene in mature fruits. The null mutation in CCS promoted the biosynthesis of β,ε-branch carotenoids leading to lutein being the most abundant carotenoid found in orange CSJ010 fruits. These findings provide important insights into the mechanism underlying color formation in pepper fruits and establish a foundation for the further exploration of color-related genes.

    Keywords: Capsicum, fruit color, Transcriptome, Widely targeted metabolome, Quantitative determination, Whole-genome re-sequence

    Received: 12 Jun 2024; Accepted: 15 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Song, Xu, chen, Chang, li, Cheng and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhao Song, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
    Xiaowan Xu, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
    xiao chen, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
    Jingjing Chang, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
    jing li, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
    Jiaowen Cheng, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China
    Baige Zhang, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China

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