2022年6月15日，中国农业科学院蔬菜花卉研究所甘蓝青花菜团队在期刊International Journal of Molecular Sciences（2023 IF=5.6）上发表了名为Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Key Genes and Pathways Associated with the Petal Color Formation in Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata)的研究论文，论文第一作者为张斌和王娇，通讯作者为张扬勇研究员。

花色的甘蓝的重要农艺性状，虽然前面的研究已经对关键基因BoCCD4进行了功能鉴定，但是其分子调控机制尚不清楚。本文以甘蓝黄花自交系YL-1和白花芥兰自交系A192-1，BoCCD4的过表达株系YF-2(YL背景)进行转录组分析，发现在A192-1和YF-2花瓣中，与类胡萝卜素生物合成相关的基因BoAA03和两个关键酶编码基因Bo2g151880(WRKY)和Bo3g024180(SBP)均显著上调，与BoCCD4的表达模式一致。推测这些关键基因可能与BoCCD4相互作用，共同调节甘蓝花瓣中类胡萝卜素的生物合成。

Figure 1. Phenotypes of A192-1, YL-1 and YF-2. (a) A192-1 with white petals. (b) YL-1 with yellow
petals. (c) YF-2 with white petals. Bar = 5 mm.

Figure 2. Venn diagram showing the numbers of DEGs in the A192-1 vs. YL-1 and YL-1 vs. YF-2
comparison groups.

Figure 3. Top 20 enriched GO terms and KEGG pathways in the A192-1 vs. YL-1 and YL-1 vs. YF-2
comparison groups. (a) GO terms for the three comparison groups. The X-axis represents the rich
factor, and the Y-axis represents the GO terms. (b) KEGG pathways for the three comparison groups.
The X-axis represents the rich factor, and the Y-axis represents the pathway terms.

Figure 4. Heatmap of gene expression patterns involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in
A192−1, YL−1 and YF−2. The heatmap was constructed according to the FPKM average values. The
color scale represents the highest and lowest levels of expression, and the rows and columns in the
heatmap represent samples and genes, respectively . The asterisks represent significant differences in
both A192−1 and YF−2 petals (p < 0.05).

Figure 5. Transcript levels of six key DEGs related to carotenoid metabolism in A192-1, YL-1 and YF-2The error bars represent the standard errors of three biological replicates. The asterisks representsignificant differences (p < 0.01).