Project description:Inflorescence type and remontancy are two valuable traits in bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla L.) and both are recessively inherited. Molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) can greatly reduce the time necessary to breed cultivars with desired traits. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 5803 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was performed using a panel of 82 bigleaf hydrangea cultivars. One SNP locus (Hy_CAPS_Inflo) associated with inflorescence type was identified with general linear model (GLM) and mixed linear model (MLM) methods that explained 65.5% and 36.1% of the phenotypic variations, respectively. Twenty-three SNPs associated with remontancy were detected in GLM whereas no SNP was detected in MLM. The SNP locus (Hy_CAPS_Inflo) was converted to a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) marker that showed absolute identification accuracy (100%) of inflorescence type in a validation panel consisting of eighteen H. macrophylla cultivars. The SNP was investigated in 341 F1 progenies using genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and co-segregated with inflorescence type (? 2?=?0.12; P?=?0.73). The SNP was subsequently used for breeding selection using kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) technology. Future directions for the use of genomics and MAS in hydrangea breeding improvement are discussed. The results presented in this study provide insights for further research on understanding genetic mechanisms behind inflorescence type and remontancy in H. macrophylla. The CAPS and KASP markers developed here will be immediately useful for applying MAS to accelerate breeding improvement in hydrangea.
Project description:The original sepal color of Hydrangea macrophylla is blue, although it is well known that sepal color easily changes from blue through purple to red. All the colors are due to a unique anthocyanin, 3-O-glucosyldelphinidin, and both aluminum ion (Al3+) and copigments, 5-O-caffeoyl and/or 5-O-p-coumaroylquinic acid are essential for blue coloration. A mixture of 3-O-glucosyldelphinidin, 5-O-acylquinic acid, and Al3+ in a buffer solution at pH 4 produces a stable blue solution with visible absorption and circular dichroism spectra identical to those of the sepals, then, we named this blue pigment as 'hydrangea blue-complex'. The hydrangea blue-complex consists of 3-O-glucosyldelphinidin, Al3+, and 5-O-acylquinic acid in a ratio 1:1:1 as determined by the electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. To map the distribution of hydrangea blue-complex in sepal tissues, we carried out cryo-time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis. The spectrum of the reproduced hydrangea blue-complex with negative mode-detection gave a molecular ion at m/z = 841, which was consistent with the results of ESI-TOF MS. The same molecular ion peak at m/z = 841 was detected in freeze-fixed blue sepal-tissue. In sepal tissues, the blue cells were located in the second layer and the mass spectrometry imaging of the ion attributable to hydrangea blue-complex overlapped with the same area of the blue cells. In colorless epidermal cells, atomic ion of Al3+ was hardly detected and potassium adduct ion of 5-O-caffeoyl and/or 3-O-acylquinic acid were found. This is the first report about the distribution of aluminum, potassium, hydrangea blue-complex, and copigment in sepal tissues and the first evidence that aluminum and hydrangea blue-complex exist in blue sepal cells and are involved in blue coloration.
Project description:Most blue color in flowers is due to anthocyanin, and considerable proportion of blue coloration can be attributed to metal-complexed anthocyanins. Recently, we reported vacuolar localized iron-transporter in blue petal cells of Tulipa gesneriana. However the mechanism of another metal ion transporters and subsequent flower color development has yet to be fully explored. In Hydrangea macrophylla, Al3+ is involved in blue coloration and the anthocyanin is formed Al3+-complex in vacuoles. To identify the molecular mechanism of blue coloration in hydrangea flowers, we tried to isolate the related genes transporting metal ion into vacuoles. From the sepal cDNA library we read the sequences of ca. 12000 genes, then a microarray analysis was carried out. From the sequences information, we chose several genes that might localize vacuolar membrane and transport Al3+. By using Al3+-sensitive yeast strain, we could identify the gene transporting Al3+ into vacuole. From the functional similarity and predicted localization, we could also identify the gene transporting Al3+ into cytosol. We will report the Al3+ mobilization from out of cell into vacuole in the sepal of Hydrangea macrophylla. Overall design: Three sepal pigmentation stages were chosen: S1=no pigmentation-sepal closed; S2=started pigmentation-sepal opening; and S3=pigmentation complete-sepal opened. One pooled sepal sample per stage was prepared and gene expression pattern was analyzed by custom-designed Hydrangea oligo DNA microarray (CombiMatrix 12K). The genes that were expressed >2-fold or <0.5-fold in S3 compared with S1 and S2 were selected as potential players involved in sepal pigmentation due to aluminum accumulation.
Project description:Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) is a well known Al-accumulating plant, showing a high level of aluminum (Al) tolerance and accumulation. Although the physiological mechanisms for detoxification of Al and the roles of Al in blue hydrangea sepals have been reported, the molecular mechanisms of Al tolerance and accumulation are poorly understood in hydrangea. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of Al-response genes in the roots and leaves of hydrangea by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The assembly of hydrangea transcriptome provides a rich source for gene identification and mining molecular markers, including single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR). A total of 401,215 transcripts with an average length of 810.77 bp were assembled, generating 256,127 unigenes. After annotation, 4,287 genes in the roots and 730 genes in the leaves were up-regulated by Al exposure, while 236 genes in the roots and 719 genes in the leaves were down-regulated, respectively. Many transporters, including MATE and ABC families, were involved in the process of Al-citrate complex transporting from the roots in hydrangea. A plasma membrane Al uptake transporter, Nramp aluminum transporter was up-regulated in roots and leaves under Al stress, indicating it may play an important role in Al tolerance by reducing the level of toxic Al. Although the exact roles of these candidate genes remain to be examined, these results provide a platform for further functional analysis of the process of detoxification of Al in hydrangea.
Project description:The ornamental crop species Hydrangea macrophylla exhibits diploid and triploid levels of ploidy and develops lacecap (wild type) or mophead inflorescences. In order to characterize a H. macrophylla germplasm collection, we determined the inflorescence type and the 2C DNA content of 120 plants representing 43 cultivars. We identified 78 putative diploid and 39 putative triploid plants by flow cytometry. In our collection 69 out of 98 flowering plants produced lacecap inflorescences, whereas 29 plants developed mophead inflorescences. Surprisingly, 12 cultivars included diploid as well as triploid plants, while 5 cultivars contained plants with different inflorescence types. We genotyped this germplasm collection using 12 SSR markers that detected 2-7 alleles per marker, and identified 51 different alleles in this collection. We detected 62 distinct fingerprints, revealing a higher genetic variation than the number of cultivars suggested. Only one genotype per cultivar is expected due to the vegetative propagation of Hydrangea cultivars; however we identified 25 cultivars containing 2-4 different genotypes. These different genotypes explained the variation in DNA content and inflorescence type. Diploid and triploid plants with the same cultivar name were exclusively mix-ups. We therefor assume, that 36% of the tested plants were mislabeled. Based on the "Wädenswil" pedigree, which includes 31 of the tested cultivars, we predicted cultivar-specific fingerprints and identified at least 21 out of 31 cultivars by SSR marker-based reconstruction of the "Wädenswil" pedigree. Furthermore, we detected 4 putative interploid crosses between diploid and triploid plants in this pedigree. These interploid crosses resulted in diploid or/and triploid offspring, suggesting that crosses with triploids were successfully applied in breeding of H. macrophylla.