胡萝卜如何变成橙色：基因组学找到问题的根源

How carrots became orange: genomics get at the root of the matter

胡萝卜如何变成橙色：基因组学找到问题的根源

The vegetable was domesticated roughly 1,200 years ago but was yellow or purple for centuries.

这种蔬菜大约在1200年前被驯化，但几个世纪以来一直是黄色或紫色的。 An analysis of 630 carrot genomes from around the world has revealed three genes that give the vegetable its orange hue and nutritional heft. 一项对来自世界各地的630种胡萝卜基因组的分析揭示了三种基因赋予这种蔬菜橙色色调和营养价值。 Both traits are due to pigments called carotenoids, which are precursors to vitamin A and are abundant in the carrot’s taproot. Kevin Coe at North Carolina State University in Kannapolis and his colleagues traced the colourful history of the modern carrot by analysing hundreds of carrot genomes, including 95 wild relatives. 这两种特性都是由于一种叫做类胡萝卜素的色素，它是维生素A的前体，在胡萝卜的主根中含量丰富。位于卡纳波利斯的北卡罗莱纳州立大学的凯文·科和他的同事们通过分析包括95个野生亲缘品种在内的数百个胡萝卜基因组，追溯了现代胡萝卜丰富多彩的历史。 The data, combined with historical records, indicate that carrots were domesticated in Asia between the ninth and tenth centuries AD. Hundreds of years later, the orange colour was selected for — probably in a yellow ancestor — in western Europe. 这些数据与历史记录相结合，表明胡萝卜在公元9世纪到10世纪之间在亚洲被驯化。几百年后，在西欧，橙色可能是黄色祖先的颜色。 Over the centuries, humans have left their imprint throughout the carrot genome. For example, flowering renders the carrot taproot woody and inedible, so breeders have selected for several genes that delay flowering time. They also selected for three genes that cause carotenoid accumulation, contributing to the vegetable’s vivid colour and nutritional value. 几个世纪以来，人类在胡萝卜基因组中留下了印记。例如，开花使胡萝卜的主根木质化，不能食用，因此育种者选择了几种延迟开花时间的基因。他们还选择了三种导致类胡萝卜素积累的基因，这些基因有助于蔬菜的鲜艳颜色和营养价值。

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03035-0

文章来源nature