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. 2018 Mar 4;13(3):e1451708.
doi: 10.1080/15592324.2018.1451708. Epub 2018 Mar 27.

ROS-Induced anthocyanin production provides feedback protection by scavenging ROS and maintaining photosynthetic capacity in Arabidopsis

Zhenhua Xu  1 , Steven J Rothstein  1
Affiliations

ROS-Induced anthocyanin production provides feedback protection by scavenging ROS and maintaining photosynthetic capacity in Arabidopsis

Zhenhua Xu et al. Plant Signal Behav. .

Abstract

Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments with antioxidant activities. In plants, multiple factors can trigger the accumulation of anthocyanins, including chemicals and environmental factors. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are common by-products produced under different biotic and abiotic conditions and cause oxidative stress when accumulated at a high level in plant cells. This in turn leads to the production of anthocyanins. However, the mechanisms of ROS-induced anthocyanin accumulation and the role of anthocyanins in the response of plants to different stresses are largely unknown. We have recently reported the cross-regulation between ROS and anthocyanin production through analyzing ten Arabidopsis mutants covering the main anthocyanin regulatory and biosynthetic genes grown under different ROS-generating stresses. Here, we describe the general phenotypic response of anthocyanin mutants under normal and ROS-generating stress conditions, showing the changing levels of anthocyanin accumulation and their sensitivity to stresses. In addition, we propose a model that describes a particular gene interaction that highlights how the cross-regulation mechanisms between ROS and anthocyanin production are essential for plant resistance to various stresses through removing excessive ROS and maintaining photosynthetic capacity.

Keywords: Anthocyanin; Arabidopsis; Reactive oxygen species (ROS); cross-regulation; photosynthetic capacity; ttmutants.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
General phenotypic responses of anthocyanin mutants under different growth conditions. The color heatmap on the right-bottom corner represents the color change of the plant under different growth conditions. Green colour indicates the optimal growth status of the plants. Yellow colour indicates the sensitivity of plants to stress. Different intensity of purple indicates various levels of anthocyanin accumulation. The relative plant size reflects the relative sensitivity of plants to different growth condition.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Model for the regulation of anthocyanin production in the tt8 mutant under different growth conditions and the physiological functions of anthocyanin in protecting plants against ROS. Expression of GL3 complements the loss-of-function of TT8 in the tt8 mutant only under stress conditions. The pointed arrows indicate positive regulation and blunt end arrows indicate negative regulation. The thickness of the blue arrow indicates the extent of the regulation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Erratum for

  • Addendum to: Xu Z, Mahmood K. and Rothstein SJ. ROS Induces Anthocyanin Production via late biosynthetic genes and anthocyanin deficiency confers the hypersensitivity to ROS-generating stresses in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Physiol. 2017;58:1364-77. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcx073.

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