Novel anthocyanins produced in petals of genetically transformed lisianthus

The structures of the pigments in the deep purple flowers of a lisianthus line, transformed with a UDP-glucose:flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase cDNA from Antirrhinum majus, have been studied using paper chromatography, HPLC and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy involving the use of 1H-1H COSY and TOCSY techniques. The transgenic line is shown to have produced the new anthocyanins delphinidin-3-O-beta-D-(6-O-alpha-L -rhamnopyranosylglucopyranoside)-5-O-beta-D-[6-E (and Z)-p-coumaroylglucopyranoside] and delphinidin -3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside-5-O-beta-D-(6-O-E-p -coumaroylglucopyranoside) in addition to those found in the untransformed control plants.