Front Plant Sci. 2016 Feb 16;7:153. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00153. eCollection 2016.
1Plant Development and (Epi)Genetics, Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Abstract
In
the last decade plant biotechnologists and breeders have made several
attempt to improve the antioxidant content of plant-derived food. Most
efforts concentrated on increasing the synthesis of antioxidants, in
particular anthocyanins, by inducing the transcription of genes encoding
the synthesizing enzymes. We present here an overview of economically
interesting plant species, both food crops and ornamentals, in which
anthocyanin content was improved by traditional breeding or
transgenesis. Old genetic studies in petunia
and more recent biochemical work in brunfelsia, have shown that after
synthesis and compartmentalization in the vacuole, anthocyanins need to
be stabilized to preserve the color of the plant tissue over time. The
final yield of antioxidant molecules is the result of the balance
between synthesis and degradation. Therefore the understanding of the
mechanism that determine molecule stabilization in the vacuolar lumen is
the next step that needs to be taken to further improve the anthocyanin
content in food. In several species a phenomenon known as fading is
responsible for the disappearance of pigmentation which in some case can
be nearly complete. We discuss the present knowledge about the genetic
and biochemical factors involved in pigment preservation/destabilization
in plant cells. The improvement of our understanding of the fading
process will supply new tools for both biotechnological approaches and
marker-assisted breeding.
KEYWORDS:
Anthocyanin; fading; health-promoting products; product stabilization; vacuole
