Abstract: The grain color of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important characteristic in crop production. Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase genes (DFR) encode the key enzyme dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, which is involved in the pigmentation of plant tissues. To investigate the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin deposition in grains of wheat, we determined the expression of the wheat DFR gene in purple grains of cultivar Heimai 76. The results showed that DFR transcripts were localized in the seed coat of purple grains rather than in the pericarp, whereas anthocyanins were accumulated in both tissues of purple grains, suggesting that anthocyanin deposition was mainly regulated at the transcriptional level. Overexpression of the TaDFR-A gene in Arabidopsis showed that TaDFR-A was responsible for the pigmentation of Arabidopsis plant tissues, indicating TaDFR-A gene has the same role in Arabidopsis.

Key words: anthocyanin, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, localization of TaDFR transcripts, purple grain, wheat.