Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Profiling Unveils Anthocyanin Regulation in Chemically Induced Flower Color Variation of Impatiens hybrida ‘Solarscape’

Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Profiling Unveils Anthocyanin Regulation in Chemically Induced Flower Color Variation of Impatiens hybrida ‘Solarscape’ | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Profiling Unveils Anthocyanin Regulation in Chemically Induced Flower Color Variation of Impatiens hybrida ‘Solarscape’ Yan Tian, Xiao-Yan Luo, Xuan-Yan Li, Jia-Qi He, Xin-Yin Chen, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6913289/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Plant Biology → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background The Impatiens plants are one of the world's top three flower bed floriferous plants with important ornamental and horticultural values, vivid floral colors are more likely to attract pollinators, and one of the important ornamental traits of flowers. This study was conducted to determine whether the flower color of Impatiens can be altered after induction, with the aim of clarifying the molecular basis underlying its variation and to offer a vital reference for developing novel Impatiens varieties. Compared with diploids, the flower color of colchicine-induced Impatiens showed obvious changes, the flowers changed from pinkish purple to orange. Results Integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics were comprehensively utilized to reveal the metabolic pathways of anthocyanin biosynthesis in non-mutant purple flowers and mutant orange. The floral hue discrepancies between Ih-WT and Ih-MU in Impatiens hybrida ‘Solarscape’ exhibit marked variations in luminance (L*), the red-green axis (a*), the yellow-blue axis (b*), and color intensity (Chroma c*). Specifically, the L* value of Ih-WT is significantly higher than that of Ih-MU, and the a*, b*, and Chroma c* values of Ih-WT are significantly greater than those of Ih-MU. Metabolomics identified 93 differential metabolites, most of which were Cyanidin and Pelargonidin-like metabolites, and the accumulation of Cyanidin and Pelargonidin was the principal factor underlying the petal color transition to orange in I. hybrida 'Solarscape'. The accumulation of Cyanidin and Pelargonidin was the main reason for the orange coloration of I. hybrida 'Solarscape' petals. Comparative analysis of the differential metabolites in the two flower samples indicated that the two anthocyanins, Pelargonidin-3-O-sophoroside and Cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside, were the pigments most likely to regulate petal coloration. Analysis of the transcriptome identified 1888 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including key genes for anthocyanin synthesis (IhC4H, IhUFGT, IhDFR, and IhANS) and regulators (IhMYB308, IhNAC56, and IhMYC2) with high levels of expression of Ih-MU in orange flowers, indicating that they play a role in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. These genes may be pivotal for the biosynthesis of orange anthocyanins. Co-expression analysis of differentially expressed genes and the relative levels of differentially expressed anthocyanins revealed that each anthocyanin is strongly associated with multiple genes, indicating that the anthocyanin accumulation process is governed by multiple genes. The expression levels of these genes exhibited a statistically significant positive correlation with the relative concentrations of Pelargonidin-3-O-sophoroside, Cyanidin-3-O-(6-O-p-coumaroyl)-glucoside, and Cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside. Conclusions This study showed substantial alterations in color and anthocyanin synthesis in chemically mutagenized I. hybrida 'Solarscape' flowers, and these findings could provide some insight into the relationship between Impatiens and other flowers could offer a theoretical foundation for the breeding improvement of Impatiens and other flowers. Keywords: Impatiens hybrida 'Solarscape'; floral color variation; metabolomics; transcriptomics; anthocyanin biosynthesis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files file.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Plant Biology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 07 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 25 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 07 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 06 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6913289","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":495693222,"identity":"f881d7d8-04ad-4db1-968d-f8a4843796de","order_by":0,"name":"Yan Tian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"College of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yan","middleName":"","lastName":"Tian","suffix":""},{"id":495693223,"identity":"3bb18f4c-22a1-4e4d-8962-269b7b96bfba","order_by":1,"name":"Xiao-Yan Luo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"College of Landscape Architecture and 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‘Solarscape’\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-plant-biology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pbio","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Plant Biology](http://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pbio/default.aspx","title":"BMC Plant Biology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC 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This study was conducted to determine whether the flower color of Impatiens can be altered after induction, with the aim of clarifying the molecular basis underlying its variation and to offer a vital reference for developing novel Impatiens varieties. Compared with diploids, the flower color of colchicine-induced Impatiens showed obvious changes, the flowers changed from pinkish purple to orange.\nResults\nIntegrated metabolomics and transcriptomics were comprehensively utilized to reveal the metabolic pathways of anthocyanin biosynthesis in non-mutant purple flowers and mutant orange. The floral hue discrepancies between Ih-WT and Ih-MU in Impatiens hybrida ‘Solarscape’ exhibit marked variations in luminance (L*), the red-green axis (a*), the yellow-blue axis (b*), and color intensity (Chroma c*). Specifically, the L* value of Ih-WT is significantly higher than that of Ih-MU, and the a*, b*, and Chroma c* values of Ih-WT are significantly greater than those of Ih-MU. Metabolomics identified 93 differential metabolites, most of which were Cyanidin and Pelargonidin-like metabolites, and the accumulation of Cyanidin and Pelargonidin was the principal factor underlying the petal color transition to orange in I. hybrida 'Solarscape'. The accumulation of Cyanidin and Pelargonidin was the main reason for the orange coloration of I. hybrida 'Solarscape' petals. Comparative analysis of the differential metabolites in the two flower samples indicated that the two anthocyanins, Pelargonidin-3-O-sophoroside and Cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside, were the pigments most likely to regulate petal coloration. Analysis of the transcriptome identified 1888 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including key genes for anthocyanin synthesis (IhC4H, IhUFGT, IhDFR, and IhANS) and regulators (IhMYB308, IhNAC56, and IhMYC2) with high levels of expression of Ih-MU in orange flowers, indicating that they play a role in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. These genes may be pivotal for the biosynthesis of orange anthocyanins. Co-expression analysis of differentially expressed genes and the relative levels of differentially expressed anthocyanins revealed that each anthocyanin is strongly associated with multiple genes, indicating that the anthocyanin accumulation process is governed by multiple genes. The expression levels of these genes exhibited a statistically significant positive correlation with the relative concentrations of Pelargonidin-3-O-sophoroside, Cyanidin-3-O-(6-O-p-coumaroyl)-glucoside, and Cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside.\nConclusions\nThis study showed substantial alterations in color and anthocyanin synthesis in chemically mutagenized I. hybrida 'Solarscape' flowers, and these findings could provide some insight into the relationship between Impatiens and other flowers could offer a theoretical foundation for the breeding improvement of Impatiens and other flowers.\nKeywords: Impatiens hybrida 'Solarscape'; floral color variation; metabolomics; transcriptomics; anthocyanin biosynthesis\n \n ","manuscriptTitle":"Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Profiling Unveils Anthocyanin Regulation in Chemically Induced Flower Color Variation of Impatiens hybrida ‘Solarscape’","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-06 08:00:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6913289/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-13T19:56:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-11T12:27:10+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-08T00:52:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"266754431006485438057614909429084192364","date":"2025-09-29T16:36:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"128569909195485717470080700449590325126","date":"2025-09-29T08:16:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-25T23:27:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"157477306395443703239386090548402027352","date":"2025-08-04T12:04:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-04T11:20:24+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-07-07T14:37:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-06T04:13:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Plant Biology","date":"2025-07-06T04:08:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-plant-biology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pbio","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Plant Biology](http://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pbio/default.aspx","title":"BMC Plant Biology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"59a55f20-d525-4b75-a751-fdd00d1fa245","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 6th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-01T16:05:05+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6913289","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-07647-8","journal":{"identity":"bmc-plant-biology","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Plant Biology"},"publishedOn":"2025-11-26 15:58:43","publishedOnDateReadable":"November 26th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-06 08:00:07","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12870-025-07647-8","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-07647-8","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6913289","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6913289","identity":"rs-6913289","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}