New insight into the pigment composition and molecular mechanism of flower coloration in tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.) cultivars with various petal colors

Pigmentation of various components leads to different colors in tulip flowers. To understand the molecular basis of the petal coloration in tulip, integrative analyses of the pigment components and transcriptome profiles were conducted on four tulip cultivars with different petal colors. A total of four major anthocyanins and 46 carotenoids were identified. The anthocyanin cyanidin 3-O-galactoside showed markedly higher abundances in the B cultivar than in the other varieties, and among the 46 kinds of carotenoids, (E/Z)-phytoene, violaxanthin myristate and violaxanthin palmitate were the major components. The RNA-seq and qRT-PCR results indicated that the pigment accumulation was linked to the expression of genes involved in the anthocyanin and carotenoid biosynthesis pathways. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays showed the interaction between different regulator factors in tulip MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) complexes. Co-expression analyses of genes were performed, which include anthocyanin and carotenoid biosynthesis genes and transcription factors involved in MYB, bHLH, WRKY, AUX-IAA and MADS-box. The co-expression network and related analysis provide a basis for the discovery of color regulatory factors. Taken together, our study sheds light on the anthocyanin and carotenoid synthesis pathways and candidate regulatory transcription factors underlying flower coloration and shows the potential of flower breeding or pigments engineering in tulips.