A Novel Pinkish-White Flower Color Variant Is Caused by a New Allele of Flower Color Gene W1 in Wild Soybean (Glycine soja)

The enzyme flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase (F3′5′H) plays an important role in producing anthocyanin pigments in soybean. Loss of function of the W1 locus encoding F3′5′H always produces white flowers. However, few color variations have been reported in wild soybean. In the present study, we isolated a new color variant of wild soybean accession (IT261811) with pinkish-white flowers. We found that the flower’s pinkish-white color is caused by w1-s3, a single recessive allele of W1. The SNP detected in the mutant caused amino acid substitution (A304S) in a highly conserved SRS4 domain of F3′5′H proteins. On the basis of the results of the protein variation effect analyzer (PROVEAN) tool, we suggest that this mutation may lead to hypofunctional F3′5′H activity rather than non-functional activity, which thereby results in its pinkish-white color.

The Study of Genetics of Flower Color in Faba Bean Reveals Generous Diversity to Be Used in the Horticulture Industry

The horticulturally valuable traits of faba bean are poorly explored, including the available information on the genetics of flower color and pattern. This lack of understanding has reduced the inclusion of unique flower color into the horticultural-type faba bean market. The modes of inheritance of two flower colors (red petals and yellow spot on wing petals) were examined through the development of multiple F2 segregating populations. The inheritance of red flower was confirmed for two recessive genes and yellow wing spot inheritance was confirmed for a single recessive gene. These populations led to the discovery of combinations of red and yellow flower color that have not been previously reported. The solid wing petal color gene was confirmed as a single recessive gene. Understanding the inheritance of flower color in faba bean can lead to improvement of current vegetable types and opens up possibilities for ornamental markets.

Frequency-specific suppression of locomotor components by the white+ gene in Drosophila melanogaster adult flies

The classic eye-color gene white+ (w+) in Drosophila melanogaster (fruitfly) has unexpected behavioral consequences. How w+ affect locomotion of adult flies is largely unknown. Here, we show that w+ selectively suppresses locomotor components at relatively high frequencies (> 0.1 Hz). The wildtype Canton-S male flies walked intermittently in circular arenas while the white-eyed w1118 flies walked continuously. Through careful control of genetic and cytoplasmic backgrounds, we found that w+ was associated with intermittent walking. w+-carrying male flies had smaller median values of path length per second (PPS) and reduced 5-min path length compared with w1118-carrying males. Additionally, flies carrying 2-4 genomic copies of mini-white+ (mw+) showed reduced median PPSs and decreased 5-min path length compared with w1118 flies, and the suppression was dependent on the copy number of mw+. Fourier transform of the time series (i.e. PPSs over time) indicated that w+/mw+ specifically suppressed the locomotor components at relatively high frequencies (> 0.1 Hz). Lastly, the downregulation of w+ in neurons but not glial cells resulted in an increased percentage of high-frequency locomotor components. We concluded that w+ suppressed the locomotion of adult flies by selectively reducing the high-frequency locomotor components.