综合代谢组学和转录组学分析揭示火龙果不同发育阶段的潜在颜色变化OA北大核心CSTPCD

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) development is subdivided into young (Y), transformation (C), and maturation (M) stages. In the present study, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses were integrated to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the physicochemical and structural changes that occur during dragon fruit develop-ment. Particular attention was paid to the factors that regulate the fruit pericarp and pulp color changes. We identified a large number of differentially expressed genes and metabolites in each comparison group. Substantial biochemical and physiological alterations were observed across the various developmental stages of dragon fruit and 214 metabolites were identified. KEGG analysis showed that flavone and flavonol signalling pathways were significantly enriched in each comparison group. The internal and external fruit color dramatically differed between the Y and C stages. The ex-pression of Cluster-12747.5686 was upregulated, whereas those of Cluster-1339.0 and Cluster-12747.15079 were downregulated in three cytochrome P450 genes between Y and C stages. Nine differentially expressed flavonoids, in-cluding the floral / fruit pigment precursor procyanidins B1, B2, and C1, were also downregulated. This integrative analytical approach helped to explain the relationships between genotype and phenotype and clarified the numerous molecular, physicochemical, and structural changes that occur during fruit development and their relationships.