TRANSPARENT TESTA 19 is involved in the accumulation of both anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins in Arabidopsis

Flavonoid compounds such as anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (PAs; so-called condensed tannins) have a multitude of functions in plants. They must be transported from the site of synthesis in the cytosol to their final destination, the vacuoles. Three models have been proposed for sequestering anthocyanins in vacuoles, but the transport machinery for PAs is poorly understood. Novel Arabidopsis mutants, transparent testa 19 (tt19), which were induced by ion beam irradiation, showed a great reduction of anthocyanin pigments in the vegetative parts as well as brown pigments in the seed coat. The TT19 gene was isolated by chromosome walking and a candidate gene approach, and was shown to be a member of the Arabidopsis glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene family. Heterologous expression of a putative ortholog, petunia anthocyanin 9 (AN9), in tt19 complemented the anthocyanin accumulation but not the brown pigmentation in the seed coat. This suggests that the TT19 gene is required for vacuolar uptake of anthocyanins into vacuoles, but that it has also a function different from that of AN9. The depositional pattern of PA precursors in the mutant was different from that in the wild type. These results indicate that TT19 participates in the PA pathway as well as the anthocyanin pathway of Arabidopsis. As involvement of GST in the PA pathway was previously considered unlikely, the function of TT19 in the PA pathway is also discussed in the context of the putative transporter for PA precursors.     

TRANSPARENT TESTA1 interacts with R2R3-MYB factors and affects early and late steps of flavonoid biosynthesis in the endothelium of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds

Wild type seed coats of Arabidopsis thaliana are brown due to the accumulation of proanthocyanidin pigments (PAs). The pigmentation requires activation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis genes and mutations in some of these genes cause a yellow appearance of seeds, termed transparent testa (tt) phenotype. The TT1 gene encodes a WIP‐type zinc finger protein and is expressed in the seed coat endothelium where most of the PAs accumulate in wild type plants. In this study we show that TT1 is not only required for correct expression of PA‐specific genes in the seed coat, but also affects CHS, encoding the first enzyme of flavonoid biosynthesis. Many steps of this pathway are controlled by complexes of MYB and BHLH proteins with the WD40 factor TTG1. We demonstrate that TT1 can interact with the R2R3 MYB protein TT2 and that ectopic expression of TT2 can partially restore the lack in PA production in tt1. Reduced seed coat pigmentation was obtained using a TT1 variant lacking nuclear localisation signals. Based on our results we propose that the TT2/TT8/TTG1 regulon may also comprise early genes like CHS and discuss steps to further unravel the regulatory network controlling flavonoid accumulation in endothelium cells during A. thaliana seed development.     

Medicago glucosyltransferase UGT72L1: potential roles in proanthocyanidin biosynthesis

In the first reaction specific for proanthocyanidin (PA) biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula, anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) converts cyanidin to (?)-epicatechin. The glucosyltransferase UGT72L1 catalyzes formation of epicatechin 3′-O-glucoside (E3′OG), the preferred substrate for MATE transporters implicated in PA biosynthesis in both species. The mechanism of PA polymerization is still unclear, but may involve the laccase-like polyphenol oxidase TRANSPARENT TESTA 10 (TT10). We have employed a combination of cell biological, biochemical and genetic approaches to evaluate this PA pathway model. The promoter regions of UGT72L1 and MtANR share common cis-acting elements and direct overlapping, but partially distinct, expression patterns. UGT72L1 and MtANR are localized in the cytosol, whereas TT10 is localized to the vacuole. Over-expression of UGT72L1 in M. truncatula hairy roots results in increased accumulation of PA-like compounds, and loss of function of UGT72L1 partially reduces epicatechin, E3′OG and extractable PA levels in M. truncatula seeds. Expression of UGT72L1 in A. thaliana leads to a massive increase in E3′OG in immature seed, but reduced levels of extractable PAs. However, when UGT72L1 was expressed in the Arabidopsis tt10 mutant, extractable PA levels increased and seed coat browning was delayed. Our results suggest that glycosylation of epicatechin is important for both PA precursor transport and assembly, but that additional redundant pathways may exist.