ANTHOCYANIN PIGMENTATION IN TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.: GENETIC BASIS AND ROLE UNDER ABIOTIC STRESS CONDITIONS

Anthocyanins are secondary metabolites of plants. They have a wide range of biological activity such as antioxidant, photoprotection, osmoregulation, heavy metal ions chelation, antimicrobial and antifungal activities, which help plants to survive under different stress conditions. Bread wheat (T. aestivum L.) can have purple pigmentation provided by anthocyanin compounds in different organs, such as grain pericarp, coleoptile, culm, leaf blades, leaf sheaths, glumes and anthers. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying formation of these traits as well as contribution of the pigmentation to stress tolerance have not been widely studied in wheat. The aim of the current study was to investigate molecular-genetic mechanisms underlying anthocyanin pigmentation in different wheat organs and to estimate the role of the pigmentation under different abiotic stress conditions in wheat seedlings. In the current study, near-isogenic lines (NILs): cv. ‘Saratovskaya 29’ (‘S29’) and lines i:S29Pp1Pp2PF and i:S29Pp1Pp3P developed on the ‘S29’ background but having grain pericarp coloration (genes Pp) and more intense coleoptile (Rc), culm (Pc), leaf blade (Plb), leaf sheath (Pls) pigmentation in comparison with ‘S29’, were used. Comparative transcriptional analysis of the five structural genes Chs, Chi, F3h, Dfr, Ans, encoding enzymes participating in the anthocyanin biosynthesis, was performed in different organs of NILs. It was shown that the presence of the Rc, Pc, Plb, Pls and Pp alleles conferring strong anthocyanin pigmentation induced more intense transcription of the structural genes, suggesting the genes Rc, Pc, Plb, Pls and Pp to play a regulatory role in anthocyanin biosynthesis network. To evaluate the role of anthocyanins in stress response at the seedling stage, growth ability of the NILs and anthocyanin content in their coleoptiles were assessed after treatments with NaCl (100 and 200 mM), CdCl2 (25 and 50 μM) and 15% PEG 6000 (polyethylene glycol 6000), simulating salinity, heavy metal and drought stress, respectively. Under salinity and drought stress, the level of anthocyanins increased significantly in all three NILs in comparison with untreated control, whereas under CdCl2 treatment anthocyanin content increased significantly in ‘S29’ only. The tendency of the lines having more intensive anthocyanin pigmentation to have better growth ability under stress conditions was observed. Taken together the results obtained it may be suggested that anthocyanin production in wheat seedlings is tightly related with the response to abiotic stress

Anthocyanins participate in protection of wheat seedlings from osmotic stress

Plant secondary metabolites anthocyanins are considered to play a protective role. In bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), anthocyanins can be observed in both adult plants and seedlings. The aim of the current study was to investigate the putative role of anthocyanins present in grains and shoots with respect to the protection of seedlings against drought. For this purpose a set of near isogenic lines (NILs) differing in pericarp and coleoptile colour was used. Water stress was created by artificial shortage of moisture under laboratory conditions. Differences among the lines were observed in a way that the lines with dark-purple grains and coleoptiles (genotype Pp-D1Pp-D1Pp3Pp3Rc-A1Rc-A1Rc-D1Rc-D1) demonstrated a higher seedling drought tolerance than plants with uncoloured pericarp and lightpurple coleoptiles (pp-D1pp-D1pp3pp3Rc-A1Rc-A1rc-D1rc-D1). Furthermore, protection of the root system and the shoot was related with the presence of anthocyanins in grains and coleoptiles, respectively

Effect of seed pre-sowing gamma-irradiation treatment in bread wheat lines differing by anthocyanin pigmentation

Anthocyanins are natural antioxidants able to scavenge free radicals, which appear in plant cells under various environmental stresses. In wheat, anthocyanin pigments can be synthesized in vegetative and reproductive organs. The objective of the current study was to estimate the significance of these substances for wheat seedlings protection under irradiation stress (after treatment of dry seeds with moderate doses of gamma-irradiation, 50, 100 and 200 Gy). For this goal a set of near-isogenic lines (8 NILs) carrying different combinations of the Pp (purple pericarp) and Rc (red coleoptile) alleles were used. The effect of gammairradiation on the growth parameters and anthocyanin content in coleoptiles was studied at the 4th day after germination. The germination rate was not affected, while roots’ and shoots’ lengths and fresh weights as well as root number decreased significantly under irradiation treatment. The effect was deeper under higher doses. Irradiation treatment also induced change of root morphology (‘hairy roots’). The effect of treatment on coleoptile anthocyanin content depended on allelic combination at the Rc loci. At the presence of ‘weak’ Rc-A1 allele anthocyanin content decreased, while it did not change in lines with Rc-A1 + Rc-D1 combination (NILs with intensively colored coleoptiles). Factors ‘pericarp color’ and ‘coleoptile color’ influenced vigor of the seedlings under 50 Gy, whereas under higher doses (100 and 200 Gy) these factors did not contribute to growth parameters changes. Statistically significant positive effect of anthocyanins synthesized in coleoptile (in the presence of Rc-A1 + Rc-D1 dominant alleles) on root growth of seedling germinated from 50 Gy-treated seeds was observed