ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Biotechnology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1549458
This article is part of the Research TopicMulti-omics Strategies to Analyze Complex Agronomic Traits in Plants, Volume IIView all 8 articles
Integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics unravel the biosynthesis mechanism of anthocyanin in postharvest red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.)
Provisionally accepted
- Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, China
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Anthocyanins are crucial secondary metabolites that are responsible for pigment deposition in fruits. Raspberry fruit color shifts from white to red during natural or postharvest ripening.However, the precise mechanisms and biosynthetic pathways of anthocyanins in postharvest raspberries remain unclear. This study used metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses to explore anthocyanin biosynthesis in postharvest raspberries at various color stages: white (RBT-1), white-to-pink (RBT-2), pink (RBT-3), red (RBT-4), and deep red (RBT-5). We identified 43 key metabolites, and 13,239 DEGs linked to anthocyanin biosynthesis in postharvest raspberry colour development, including cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. The key DAMs in colored raspberries were gentiobioside, pelargonidin-3,5-O-diglucoside, cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside, and pelargonidin-3-O-sambubioside. Transcriptome analysis revealed 32 differentially expressed structural genes linked to anthocyanin and flavonoid synthesis, with significant upregulation of PAL, CHS, F3H, C4H, F3'H, DFR, ANS, CHI, and UFGT genes, which promote anthocyanin synthesis and pigment accumulation. Integrated analysis showed that cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside was correlated with 9 structural genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, 19 transcription factors (TFs), and 14 hormone signaling-related genes. This study explored the regulatory mechanisms of MYB, WRKY, bHLH, and NAC transcription factors, as well as structural genes and phytohormone-related genes, in modulating anthocyanin metabolism during postharvest color changes in raspberries. The findings provide valuable insights for optimizing postharvest fruit storage conditions and enhancing fruit quality.
Keywords: Raspberry, Anthocyanin, Transcriptome, Metabolome, Color variation
Received: 21 Dec 2024; Accepted: 14 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Cui, Liu, Qian, Zhu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yue Li, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, China
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