Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides

Abstract Background In Lonicera macranthoides (L. macranthoides), the role of carotenoids in the flower color transition remains unclear. In this study, at the four flower developmental stages of green flower bud (GB), white flower bud (WB), white flower (WF) and golden flower (GF) in L.macranthoide...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ling Ling Lv, Li Yun Li, Jian Hui Pi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Biotechnology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-025-01007-y
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849342433691697152
author Ling Ling Lv
Li Yun Li
Jian Hui Pi
author_facet Ling Ling Lv
Li Yun Li
Jian Hui Pi
author_sort Ling Ling Lv
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background In Lonicera macranthoides (L. macranthoides), the role of carotenoids in the flower color transition remains unclear. In this study, at the four flower developmental stages of green flower bud (GB), white flower bud (WB), white flower (WF) and golden flower (GF) in L.macranthoides, combined transcriptomic and carotenoid metabolomic analyses was performed to clarify the changes of carotenoid content and the expressions of genes related to carotenoid biosynthesis. Results A total of sixteen carotenoids, including 5 carotenes and 11 xanthophylls, were detected and quantified from the all samples. The content of 16 carotenoids was found to decrease first and reach the lowest level at WF, then dramatically increase at GF. At GB, the carotenoid content was the highest and the top three carotenoids in content were lutein, zeaxanthin and violaxanthin. At WB and WF, the carotenoid contents were relatively low, and the buds or flowers appeared white. At GF, β-carotene and violaxanthin were obviously dominant, accounting for 64.95% of the content of 14 detectable carotenoids, and they might be the major contributors to yellow color at GF. The expressions of differentially expressed genes indicated that with the development of flowers, the biosynthesis of carotenoids shifted from α-carotene branch to β-carotene branch. Conclusion The findings are beneficial to genetic improvement of varieties in L.macranthoides by increasing the carotenoids content in flowers.
format Article
id doaj-art-3f6c0cbeb0384759a282e4cf21ebdbf9
institution Kabale University
issn 1472-6750
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Biotechnology
spelling doaj-art-3f6c0cbeb0384759a282e4cf21ebdbf92025-08-20T03:43:22ZengBMCBMC Biotechnology1472-67502025-07-012511910.1186/s12896-025-01007-yCarotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoidesLing Ling Lv0Li Yun Li1Jian Hui Pi2Key Laboratory of Research and Utilization of Ethnomedicinal Plant Resources of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Hunan Higher Education for Western Hunan Medicinal Plant and Ethnobotan, Huaihua UniversityKey Laboratory of Research and Utilization of Ethnomedicinal Plant Resources of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Hunan Higher Education for Western Hunan Medicinal Plant and Ethnobotan, Huaihua UniversityKey Laboratory of Research and Utilization of Ethnomedicinal Plant Resources of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Hunan Higher Education for Western Hunan Medicinal Plant and Ethnobotan, Huaihua UniversityAbstract Background In Lonicera macranthoides (L. macranthoides), the role of carotenoids in the flower color transition remains unclear. In this study, at the four flower developmental stages of green flower bud (GB), white flower bud (WB), white flower (WF) and golden flower (GF) in L.macranthoides, combined transcriptomic and carotenoid metabolomic analyses was performed to clarify the changes of carotenoid content and the expressions of genes related to carotenoid biosynthesis. Results A total of sixteen carotenoids, including 5 carotenes and 11 xanthophylls, were detected and quantified from the all samples. The content of 16 carotenoids was found to decrease first and reach the lowest level at WF, then dramatically increase at GF. At GB, the carotenoid content was the highest and the top three carotenoids in content were lutein, zeaxanthin and violaxanthin. At WB and WF, the carotenoid contents were relatively low, and the buds or flowers appeared white. At GF, β-carotene and violaxanthin were obviously dominant, accounting for 64.95% of the content of 14 detectable carotenoids, and they might be the major contributors to yellow color at GF. The expressions of differentially expressed genes indicated that with the development of flowers, the biosynthesis of carotenoids shifted from α-carotene branch to β-carotene branch. Conclusion The findings are beneficial to genetic improvement of varieties in L.macranthoides by increasing the carotenoids content in flowers.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-025-01007-yLonicera macranthoidesTranscriptomeCarotenoid metabolomeCaroteneXanthophyllFlower color
spellingShingle Ling Ling Lv
Li Yun Li
Jian Hui Pi
Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides
BMC Biotechnology
Lonicera macranthoides
Transcriptome
Carotenoid metabolome
Carotene
Xanthophyll
Flower color
title Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides
title_full Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides
title_fullStr Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides
title_full_unstemmed Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides
title_short Carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in Lonicera macranthoides
title_sort carotenoid metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses provide insights into the flower color transition in lonicera macranthoides
topic Lonicera macranthoides
Transcriptome
Carotenoid metabolome
Carotene
Xanthophyll
Flower color
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-025-01007-y
work_keys_str_mv AT linglinglv carotenoidmetabolomicandtranscriptomicanalysesprovideinsightsintotheflowercolortransitioninloniceramacranthoides
AT liyunli carotenoidmetabolomicandtranscriptomicanalysesprovideinsightsintotheflowercolortransitioninloniceramacranthoides
AT jianhuipi carotenoidmetabolomicandtranscriptomicanalysesprovideinsightsintotheflowercolortransitioninloniceramacranthoides