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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #328686
Title: Transcriptional regulation of chlorogenic acid biosynthesis in carrot root slices exposed to UV-B light

Author
item Bartley, Glenn
item Avena-Bustillos, Roberto
item Du, Wen-Xian
item Hidalgo, Marlene
item Cain, Brian
item Breksa, Andrew

Submitted to: Plant Gene
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2016
Publication Date: 7/21/2016
Citation: Bartley, G.E., Avena-Bustillos, R.D., Du, W., Hidalgo, M., Cain, B.R., Breksa III, A.P. 2016. Transcriptional regulation of chlorogenic acid biosynthesis in carrot root slices exposed to UV-B light. Journal Plant Gene. 7:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.plgene.2016.07.001.

Interpretive Summary: Orange carrots are well known for their nutritional value as producers of ß-carotene, a Vitamin A precursor. Lesser known, is their ability to accumulate antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is produced through the same biosynthetic pathway that produces lignins, anthocyanins, flavonols and isoflavonoids, the phenylpropanoid pathway. This pathway can be induced by UV-B light and wounding to produce large amounts of chlorogenic acid. We identified a number of the carrot genes in this pathway and their proposed regulators in carrot root slices and analyzed their expression in response to UV-B light. Our results indicate that not only do the structural genes’ expression correlate with their proposed regulators, but also correlate with induction of this pathway.

Technical Abstract: Orange carrots are well known for their nutritional value as producers of ß-carotene, a Vitamin A precursor. Lesser known, is their ability to accumulate antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is produced through the same biosynthetic pathway that produces lignins, anthocyanins, flavonols and isoflavonoids, the phenylpropanoid pathway. This pathway can be induced by UV-B light and wounding to produce large amounts of chlorogenic acid. We identified a number of the carrot structural genes in this pathway and their proposed regulators in carrot root slices and analyzed their expression in response to UV-B light exposure using real-time PCR. Our results indicate that not only do the structural genes’ expression correlate with their proposed regulators, putative DcHY5expression, but also correlate with induction of this pathway. These results indicate that the HY5 - UVR8 signaling network may exist and function in carrot roots.