Purple or black carrots (Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef) are characterized by their dark purple- to black-colored roots, owing their appearance to high anthocyanin concentrations. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of black carrot anthocyanins as natural food dyes. Black carrot roots contain large quantities of mono-acylated anthocyanins, which impart a measure of heat-, light- and pH-stability, enhancing the color-stability of food products over their shelf-life. The genetic pathway controlling anthocyanin biosynthesis appears well conserved among land plants; however, different variants of anthocyanin-related genes between cultivars results in tissue-specific accumulations of purple pigments. Thus, broad genetic variations of anthocyanin profile, and tissue-specific distributions in carrot tissues and organs, can be observed, and the ratio of acylated to non-acylated anthocyanins varies significantly in the purple carrot germplasm. Additionally, anthocyanins synthesis can also be influenced by a wide range of external factors, such as abiotic stressors and/or chemical elicitors, directly affecting the anthocyanin yield and stability potential in food and beverage applications. In this study, we critically review and discuss the current knowledge on anthocyanin diversity, genetics and the molecular mechanisms controlling anthocyanin accumulation in carrots. We also provide a view of the current knowledge gaps and advancement needs as regards developing and applying innovative molecular tools to improve the yield, product performance and stability of carrot anthocyanin for use as a natural food colorant.

中文翻译：

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胡萝卜花青素遗传学和基因组学：改善其在食品着色剂行业应用的现状和前景

紫色或黑色胡萝卜 (Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef) 的特征是它们的根呈深紫色至黑色，这是由于它们的花青素浓度高所致。近年来，人们越来越关注使用黑胡萝卜花青素作为天然食用染料。黑胡萝卜根含有大量单酰化花青素，可提供一定程度的热稳定性、光稳定性和 pH 稳定性，增强食品在保质期内的颜色稳定性。控制花色苷生物合成的遗传途径在陆生植物中表现得非常保守；然而，品种之间花青素相关基因的不同变体导致紫色色素的组织特异性积累。因此，花青素谱的广泛遗传变异，可以观察到胡萝卜组织和器官中的组织特异性分布，并且在紫色胡萝卜种质中酰化与非酰化花青素的比例变化显着。此外，花青素的合成也可能受到各种外部因素的影响，例如非生物应激源和/或化学诱导剂，直接影响食品和饮料应用中的花青素产量和稳定性潜力。在这项研究中，我们批判性地回顾和讨论了目前关于花青素多样性、遗传学和控制胡萝卜中花青素积累的分子机制的知识。我们还提供了有关开发和应用创新分子工具以提高产量的当前知识差距和进步需求的观点，