Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have discovered a key
generegulating the biosynthesis of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins.

In a study published in the /Journal of Experimental Botany/, the
researchers showed that/MtGSTF7/, a TT19-like glutathione S-transferase
(GST) gene, was activated by the anthocyanin regulator LAP1 in the
accumulation of anthocyanins, but not proanthocyanins, in the model
legume plant/Medicago truncatula/.

The researchers found that/MtGSTF7/plays a critical role in anthocyanin
accumulation in/M. truncatula/. In addition,/MtGSTF7/could help rescue
anthocyanin-deficient mutants. They also found that LAP1 could bind to
the/MtGSTF7/promoter to activate its expression. Ectopic expression
of/MtGSTF7/in/tt19/mutants could rescue their anthocyanin deficiency,
but not their proanthocyanin defect.

New Target Gene Found for Engineering Anthocyanins in Plants----Chinese
Academy of Sciences (cas.cn)
[english.cas.cn]