Insights into tissue-specific anthocyanin accumulation in Japanese plum (Prunus salicina L.) fruits: A comparative study of three cultivars

In the present study, three matured Japanese plum cultivars with different colored peel and flesh were selected to mine the key transcription factors regulating anthocyanin formation in tissues. Results showed that PsMYB10 was correlated with structural genes C4H, F3H, and ANS. PsMYB6 could positively regulate C4H (r = 0.732) and accumulated anthocyanins in Sanhua plum’s flesh. Sanhua plum has the highest phenolic and anthocyanin contents (10.24 ± 0.37 gallic acid equivalent mg g⁻¹ dry weight (DW) and 68.95 ± 1.03 μg g⁻¹ DW), resulting itself superior biological activity as 367.1 ± 42.9 Trolox equivalent mg g⁻¹ DW in oxygen radical absorbance capacity value and 72.79 ± 4.34 quercetin equivalent mg g⁻¹ DW in cellular antioxidant activity value. The present work provides new insights into the regulatory mechanism of tissue-specific anthocyanin biosynthesis, confirming the pivotal role of anthocyanins in the biological activity of plums, providing essential support for the development of horticultural products enriched with anthocyanins.