Molecular and metabolic insights into anthocyanin biosynthesis during leaf coloration in autumn

Pistacia chinensis is a native plant of China and is used for the production of biodiesel. Certain species of this plant accumulate anthocyanin in the leaves and turn red during autumn. The mechanism of anthocyanin biosynthesis has been well studied in model and horticultural plants. However, the main factors that induce anthocyanin accumulation during leaf senescence in autumn are still obscure, and the internal mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we performed multi-omic analysis and identified 33 metabolites and 6379 transcripts with different abundance levels during autumn leaf coloration in P. chinensis. The transcriptomic data suggested that 31 structural genes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were upregulated during leaf coloration. Several genes involved in light and low temperature responses were significantly induced or reduced during autumn leaf coloration. ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) is considered as an integrator of light and low temperature signals and facilitates anthocyanin accumulation in the autumn leaves. Interestingly, jasmonic acid content was significantly enriched during leaf coloration, thereby indicating a consistent change with anthocyanin content. T0 and T1 in the article correspond to T1 and T2 in the database respectively.