Regulation and production of anthocyanins in Lactuca sativa

Abstract

Anthocyanins are purplish pigments that are often induced by stress conditions in many plants. They protect plants against various stresses due to their antioxidant properties. These antioxidant properties also cause anthocyanins to possibly be beneficial for human health when consuming anthocyanin-rich plants. For engineering crops to produce more anthocyanins in their tissues, the genetics behind the production of anthocyanins needs to be understood. While the conserved biosynthetic pathway has been characterized in many plants, regulation of anthocyanin production differs between species. Lettuce, one of the most consumed leafy vegetables in the world, is a crop that has red varieties with high amounts of anthocyanins. How the exact underlying genetics behind this increase of anthocyanins work is only partly understood. In this review, the current understandings of the genetics behind anthocyanin production and regulation in lettuce and Arabidopsis thaliana are discussed. As most research on plant genetics is done in Arabidopsis thaliana, the knowledge of anthocyanin production and regulation in this model organism are used as a basis to compare research on lettuce with. This knowledge can be used in the future to cultivate healthier lettuce variants with higher concentrations of anthocyanins.