Study on regulatory mechanisms of coloration of fruit of fruit trees by blue light

2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23658025
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Horticulture/Landscape architecture
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: SUGAYA Sumiko 筑波大学, 生命環境系, 教授 (90302372)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): SEKOZAWA Yoshihiko 筑波大学, 生命環境系, 助教 (90361310)
• Project Period (FY): 2011 – 2013
• Keywords: アントシアニン / ブドウ / 青色光

Research Abstract

To investigate the effects of blue light illumination on fruit color development after verason of fruit development, anthocyanin accumulation and mechanisms of it were analyzed using 'Kyoho' (Vitis vinifera L. x Vitis labrusca L.) plants. Grape berries were illuminated by blue LED and the effect on peel color of grapes was investigated. The result indicated that blue light promotes anthocyanin synthesis through biosynthetic enzyme activities, especially, flavonoid 3'5' hydroxilase (F3'5'H). An irradiation experiments using in vitro grape and soil planted grape trees revealed that anthocyanin accumulation was induced by blue light irradiation. The upstream region of the F3'5'H gene contains several motif sequences for cis-transcriptional factors. These results suggest that blue light irradiation would be a way to improve coloration of grape peel.