In plants, flavonoids are important secondary metabolites that contribute to the nutritional quality of many foods. Apple is a popular and frequently consumed food because of its high flavonoid content. In this study, flavonoid composition and content were detected and compared between red- and white-fleshed apples in a BC₁ hybrid population using ultraperformance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Transcriptomic analysis of the red- and white-fleshed apples was then performed using RNA-seq technology. By screening differentially expressed genes encoding transcription factors, we unearthed a WRKY-family transcription factor designated MdWRKY11. Overexpression of MdWRKY11 promoted the expression of F3H, FLS, DFR, ANS, and UFGT and increased the accumulation of flavonoids and anthocyanin in apple calli. Our findings explored the novel role of MdWRKY11 in flavonoid biosynthesis and suggest several other genes that may also be potentially involved. This provides valuable information on flavonoid synthesis for the breeding of elite red-fleshed apples.

中文翻译：

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红肉苹果的转录组学分析揭示了MdWRKY11在类黄酮和花色苷生物合成中的新作用

在植物中，类黄酮是重要的次生代谢产物，有助于许多食品的营养品质。苹果因其类黄酮含量高而成为受欢迎且经常食用的食物。在这项研究中，使用超高效液相色谱-四极杆飞行时间质谱法检测并比较了BC ₁杂种群体中红肉和白肉苹果中的类黄酮成分和含量。然后使用RNA-seq技术对红肉和白肉苹果进行转录组学分析。通过筛选编码转录因子的差异表达基因，我们发现了称为MdWRKY11的WRKY家族转录因子。MdWRKY11的过表达促进F3H，FLS，DFR的表达。，ANS和UFGT，并增加了苹果愈伤组织中黄酮和花青素的积累。我们的发现探索了MdWRKY11在类黄酮生物合成中的新作用，并提出了可能也可能涉及的其他几个基因。这提供了有关类黄酮合成的有价值的信息，可用于培育优良的红肉苹果。