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Found — the apple gene for red
December 04, 2006CSIRO researchers have located the gene that controls the colour of apples - a discovery that may lead to bright new apple varieties.
"The red colour in apple skin is the result of anthocyanins, the natural plant compounds responsible for blue and red colours in many flowers and fruits," says the leader of the CSIRO Plant Industry research team, Dr Mandy Walker.
"Colour is a very important part of fruit marketing," she says. "If fruit doesn't look good, consumers are far less likely to buy it, no matter how good it might taste.
"As well as giving apples their rosy red hue, anthocyanins are also antioxidants with healthy attributes, giving us plenty of reasons to study how the biochemical pathway leading to apple colour is regulated."
A Post Doctoral Fellow with the team, Dr Adam Takos, used the latest molecular technology to measure how much particular genes were activated, or expressed, in apple skin as the fruit ripened and coloured.
"Apple growers have always known that apple colour is dependant on light - apples grown in darkness or even heavy shade don't turn red when they ripen," Dr Walker says. "That made it very likely that the gene we were looking for requires light to be activated."
"By identifying master genes that were activated by light, Adam was able to pinpoint the gene that controls the formation of anthocyanins in apples, and we found that in green apples this gene is not expressed as much as in red apples."
In collaboration with apple breeders at the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia (DAFWA), the scientists were able to show that fruit colour can be predicted even in seedling apple plants by measuring the form of this gene that is present.
The new knowledge about how apple colour is regulated will give plant breeders the opportunity to use these molecular marker tests to speed up apple breeding and select for improved fruit colour. Dr Walker believes that this research could open the way to breeding new apple varieties.
"With a better understanding of how apple colour is controlled we can begin to breed apples with new and interesting colour variations," she says. "We may even be able to breed apples that are better for you, though they already play an important role in a healthy diet!\\\
CSIRO Australia
"As well as giving apples their rosy red hue, anthocyanins are also antioxidants with healthy attributes, giving us plenty of reasons to study how the biochemical pathway leading to apple colour is regulated."
A Post Doctoral Fellow with the team, Dr Adam Takos, used the latest molecular technology to measure how much particular genes were activated, or expressed, in apple skin as the fruit ripened and coloured.
"Apple growers have always known that apple colour is dependant on light - apples grown in darkness or even heavy shade don't turn red when they ripen," Dr Walker says. "That made it very likely that the gene we were looking for requires light to be activated."
"By identifying master genes that were activated by light, Adam was able to pinpoint the gene that controls the formation of anthocyanins in apples, and we found that in green apples this gene is not expressed as much as in red apples."
In collaboration with apple breeders at the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia (DAFWA), the scientists were able to show that fruit colour can be predicted even in seedling apple plants by measuring the form of this gene that is present.
The new knowledge about how apple colour is regulated will give plant breeders the opportunity to use these molecular marker tests to speed up apple breeding and select for improved fruit colour. Dr Walker believes that this research could open the way to breeding new apple varieties.
"With a better understanding of how apple colour is controlled we can begin to breed apples with new and interesting colour variations," she says. "We may even be able to breed apples that are better for you, though they already play an important role in a healthy diet!\\\
CSIRO Australia
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The apple trees of yesteryear are slowly disappearing. Many apple varieties common in the United States a century ago can no longer be found in today's orchards and nurseries.
Reflective film can boost profits for apple growers
In a research report published in a recent issue of HortTechnology, scientists Ignasi Iglesias and Simó Alegre examined the effects of covering orchard floors with reflective films on fruit color, fruit quality, canopy light distribution, orchard temperature, and profitability.
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First global scientific conference supporting UN efforts to curb desertification opens in Argentina
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Bugs in Boxes Shed Light on Biological Invasions
Bugs in boxes are helping UC Davis researcher Alan Hastings improve scientific tools used to predict the spread of invasive plants and animals.
Lower lexical recall in bilingual kids no cause for alarm
If your French Immersion student is scratching their tęte over not being able to think of the English word for sifflet or the French word for keyboard, a University of Alberta researcher has a sage piece of advice.
As ash borer claims more trees, researcher at ISU works for species survival
Mark Widrlechner may someday be known as the modern-day Johnny Appleseed for ash trees.
Children with fatter midsection at increased risk for cardiovascular disease
Children with more fat around their midsections could be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, researchers say.
Open-source camera could revolutionize digital photography
Stanford photo scientists are out to reinvent digital photography with the introduction of an open-source digital camera, which will give programmers around the world the chance to create software that will teach cameras new tricks.
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