Breakthrough in Flower Color Design in Rapeseed

Research at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Wuhan, People's Republic of China, has made significant strides in understanding and regulating pigment biosynthesis to create new flower colors in rapeseed. A team of scientists, led by Rui Shi, successfully introduced betalain biosynthesis pathway into rapeseed and achieved constitutive betalain production by overexpressing the gene . This approach enabled the creation of various flower colors, including orange and red, by manipulating the expression levels of the gene in different rapeseed backgrounds. The research also explored the use of petal-specific promoters to control the expression of the gene in yellow-flowered rapeseed, leading to the creation of orange flowers with green leaves. Furthermore, the team demonstrated that white flower is dominant to yellow and created green leaves with shining red flowers by crossing orange flower with white flower.

Key Takeaways:

• The research introduced betalain biosynthesis pathway into rapeseed for the first time, enabling the creation of new flower colors.
• The team successfully overexpressed the gene to achieve constitutive betalain production, leading to varying flower colors.
• The expression levels of the gene in different rapeseed backgrounds jointly determined the final color presentation.
• The use of petal-specific promoters enabled the control of gene expression in yellow-flowered rapeseed, creating orange flowers with green leaves.
• The team created green leaves with shining red flowers by crossing orange flower with white flower.
• The research provides a promising approach for creating derivative colors in rapeseed by employing bioengineering approaches to precisely regulate pigment biosynthesis.
• The findings have significant implications for rapeseed breeding and could lead to the development of new ornamental varieties.

Statistics:

• The research focused on rapeseed, a widely cultivated crop with extensive uses in food, oil, and ornamental industries.
• The study involved the expression of the gene in different rapeseed backgrounds, including yellow-flowered rapeseed (cultivar R10) and white-flowered rapeseed (cultivar R2).
• The results showed that the overexpression of the gene led to dark-red leaves and decreased photosynthesis in white-flowered rapeseed.
• The use of petal-specific promoter in yellow-flowered rapeseed enabled the creation of orange flowers with green leaves.
• The team crossbred orange flower with white flower to create green leaves with shining red flowers.

Sources:

• Rui Shi, et al. "Precise pigment biosynthesis for flower color design in Brassica napus." Horticulture Research, 2025;12(10).
• China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA.
• Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
• National Natural Science Foundation of China.
• Wuhan Knowledge Innovation Special Project.
• Talented scientist project in Qinghai Province.
• Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.