Plant Genetic Research
Scientific Journal

The Effect of Chalcone Isomerase (Chi) Gene Silencing on Flavonoids Content in Petunia hybrida using RNAi Technology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Fatemeh Keykha Akhar 1
Abdolreza Bagheri 2
Nasrin Moshtaghi 2
Masoud Fakhrfeshani 1

1 Department of Plant Genetic and Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Jahrom University, Jahrom, Iran

2 Department of Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

http://dx.doi.org/10.52547/pgr.9.1.1
Abstract
From horticulture viewpoint, flower color is one of the key targets for plant breeders. New varieties have been bred with altered flower color using genetic engineering approaches. One of the most effective applications is the reduction of flower pigments by suppression of involved enzymes in their biosynthesis pathways. RNA interference (RNAi) has provided an effective tool for the knock down of genes involved in the production of flower pigments. In this study, a chi-RNAi construct was designed for chalcone isomerase (chi) gene to transform Petunia plants. Transgenic lines in one phenotype showed 5.6 fold reduction in chi expression in comparison to the control. Chalcone and naringenin were also extracted and quantified. A 24% reduction in naringenin content was obvious in all transgenic lines. Generally, the results of this research showed that RNAi technology can be used as an efficient method for silencing the flower pigments in petunia. In addition, the chalcone isomerase gene was identified as one of the effective genes in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway in Petunia plants which is involved in the production of color in these plants; hence, chi gene silencing resulted in clear phenotypic alterations in this plant.

Keywords

Anthocyanin
Petunia hybrida
Chalcone isomerase
Gene silencing
RNAi
Plant Genetic Research
Volume 9, Issue 1
June 2022
Pages 1-12

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