[Screening the genes associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis in roots of 'Tsuda' turnip using cDNA microarray]

Anthocyanins are important secondary metabolites in plants, which are involved in many functions. The white peel of an enlarged root in 'Tsuda' plants turned red after irradiated with UV-A light for 48 h, but remained white when held in the dark. Red earthnuts and white peels were hybridized with cDNA microarray made by unique gene fragments of subtraction library. The expression of 81 genes were up-regulated including cytochrome P450, PAL, F3H, ANS, CHS, DFR and GST gene fragments related to anthocyanidin biosynthesis. The expression of 47 genes was down-regulated after irradiated with UV-A light. The northern blotting results showed that the expression of PAL, CHS, F3H, DFR and ANS in red root peels was more in 'Tsuda' turnip after irradiation with UV-A light than in white ones held in a dark condition. The results of northern blotting verified the reliability of cDNA microarray.