Flower colour, which is largely determined by anthocyanin, is an important ornamental value of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.). Anthocyanin synthesis genes encode enzymes acting at different stages of flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. In this research, we cloned anthocyanin synthesis genes PlANS and PlDFR from red dominated herbaceous peony cultivar ‘Hongyanzhenghui’ and explore their functionality with respect to colour formation by genetic engineering techniques. The over-expression vectors pB1301-PlANS and pB1301-PlDFR were constructed and transformed as heterologous genes into Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) and tobacco (K326). The quantitative real-time PCR results showed the over expression of PlANS and PlDFR in transgenic plants from 10 to 1600 times. Phenotypic observation and HPLC detection at OD 525 nm also revealed the elevated anthocyanin content in the transgenic Arabidopsis. The a* and c* value of transgenic flower increased 3–4 times compared with control tobacco which are consistent with the observed colour change. Taken together, our findings showed that PlANS, PlDFR is participated in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway which could provide a theoretical basis for further research of flower colour in herbaceous peony.

花的颜色在很大程度上由花色苷决定，是草本牡丹（Paeonia lactiflora Pall。）的重要观赏价值。花青素合成基因编码在类黄酮生物合成途径的不同阶段起作用的酶。在这项研究中，我们从占主导地位的红色草本牡丹品种'红岩正辉'中克隆了花色苷合成基因PlANS和PlDFR，并通过基因工程技术探索了它们在颜色形成方面的功能。构建了过表达载体pB1301- PlANS和pB1301- PlDFR，并将其作为异源基因转化为拟南芥（A. thaliana））和烟草（K326）。实时定量PCR结果显示，转基因植物中PlANS和PlDFR的过度表达是10到1600倍。表型观察和OD 525 nm的HPLC检测也表明转基因拟南芥中花色苷含量升高。与对照烟草相比，转基因花的a *和c *值增加了3-4倍，这与观察到的颜色变化一致。综上，我们的发现表明PlANS和PlDFR参与了花色苷的生物合成途径，可为进一步研究草本牡丹的花色提供理论依据。