Anthocyanin Accumulation and Molecular Analysis of Correlated Genes in Purple Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.)

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.) is an important dietary vegetable cultivated and consumed widely for the round swollen stem. Purple kohlrabi shows abundant anthocyanin accumulation in the leaf and swollen stem. Here, different kinds of anthocyanins were separated and identified from the purple kohlrabi cultivar (Kolibri) by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. In order to study the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin biosynthesis in purple kohlrabi, the expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and regulatory genes in purple kohlrabi and a green cultivar (Winner) was examined by quantitative PCR. In comparison with the colorless parts in the two cultivars, most of the anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and two transcription factors were drastically upregulated in the purple tissues. To study the effects of light shed on the anthocyanin accumulation of kohlrabi, total anthocyanin contents and transcripts of associated genes were analyzed in sprouts of both cultivars grown under light and dark conditions.