Development of a genetic framework to regulate anthocyanin accumulation in carrot

IORIZZO, M.; CURABA, J.; POTTORFF, M.; FERRUZZI, M.G.; SIMON, P. W.; CAVAGNARO, P. F.

San Diego, California

Conferencia; Plant and Animal Genome XXIX Conference; 2022

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 in carrot as related to other 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. Recent advances in carrot anthocyanin genetics as regards developing innovative molecular tools to improve the yield, product performance and stability of carrot anthocyanin for use as a natural food colorant will be presented, and current gaps will be discussed.