Project description:Purpose:The red coloration of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) is due to the accumulation of anthocyanins in the fruit peel. Light is essential for anthocyanin biosynthesis in apple.Apple peel can quickly turn red under light conditions after unbagging. Therefore, the implementation of transcriptome sequencing to find genes that promote anthocyanin accumulation in response to light signals is necessary to clarify the mechanism of light-induced anthocyanin accumulation in apple peel.
2021-10-02 | GSE185089 | GEO
Project description:Fruit coloration of apple
| PRJNA984160 | ENA
Project description:BSAseq of extremely hard flesh in apple
Project description:Anthocyanins are colorful plant pigments with antioxidant properties, and a diet rich in these flavonoids bears health benefits. Therefore, a strong anthocyanin accumulation in edible plant parts is of significant interest, and in Malus domestica, the domesticated apple, certain red-fleshed apple varieties exhibit this trait. Enhanced anthocyanin accumulation in the flesh of apple fruits is attributed to the hyperactivation of the MYB transcription factor MdMYB10, which act as a key regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis by inducing the expression of multiple biosynthetic genes. While several studies have explored the underlying genetic mutations and resulting transcriptome changes, there is a lack of research on proteome alterations that cause the red-fleshed apple phenotype. To address this gap, a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach was employed. Comparative proteomics identified differentially abundant proteins in young and mature fruits of the red-fleshed ‘Bay13645’ variety compared to the white-fleshed ‘Royal Gala’. Whereas several MYB transcription factors were enriched during early fruit development, they were no longer among the hyper-abundant proteins in ripe fruits of the red-fleshed genotype. In contrast, anthocyanin biosynthetic enzymes were enriched more strongly in ripe fruits of the red-fleshed cultivar, indicating developmental stage-specific differences in the control of the pigmentation process. The proteomic approach also identified novel regulatory factors and enzymes that may contribute to the red-fleshed apple phenotype, including a BAHD acyltransferase, Mal d proteins, and transcription factors of diverse families, and their potential relevance for the exhibition of this trait is discussed.
Project description:As mammals evolved exposed to particular diets, naturally abundant compounds may have become part of the set of environmental co-determinants that shaped brain structure and function. Here we investigated whether bioactive factors found in apples directly affect hippocampal neural stem cells and promote neurogenesis in the adult. Whereas the consumption of apple juice per se neither altered adult hippocampal neurogenesis nor improved learning and memory, we did find specific direct effects of apple-derived factors on neural stem cell survival and differentiation. Our results revealed that quercetin, the most abundant flavanol in apple peel, was anti-proliferative at high concentrations but acted pro-neurogenically at low concentrations. This was confirmed in vivo, with intraperitoneally-delivered quercetin promoting survival and neuronal differentiation, without affecting proliferation, likely via the PI3 kinase-Akt and Nrf2-Keap1 pathways, respectively. Using a bio-assay-guided fractionation approach with high-resolution collision induced dissociation mass spectroscopy, we also identified additional pro-neurogenic compounds in apple flesh that were not related to flavonoids. In particular, we found that 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, a weak agonist to the lactate receptor, significantly increased both in vitro and in vivo neural precursor cell proliferation and neurogenesis. Altogether, this work shows that both flavonoids and 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid are pro-neurogenic, not only by activating precursor cell proliferation but also through promoting cell cycle exit, cellular survival, and neuronal differentiation.