S22 - Session O1 - Toward a precise genetic strategy to regulate anthocyanin accumulation in carrot for improving its application in the natural food colorant industry

Authors: Massimo Iorizzo *, Julien Curaba, Vincenzo D'Amelia, Marti Pottorff, Mario Ferruzzi, Philipp Simon, Pablo Cavagnaro

Black carrots ( Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef) are characterized by their dark purple to black colored roots due to high anthocyanin concentrations. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of black carrot anthocyanins as a colorant for natural food dyes due to the roots containing large quantities of mono-acylated anthocyanins. Acylated anthocyanins impart heat, light and pH-stability, which improves the color-stability of food products over their shelf-life. The genetic pathway controlling anthocyanin biosynthesis is well conserved in carrots; however, different variants of anthocyanin-related genes and their expression results in tissue-specific accumulation of purple pigments within roots (epidermal layer, xylem and phloem), petioles, leaves and flowers. Thus, a broad variation of the anthocyanin profile can be observed including tissue-specific distribution in carrot tissues and organs and the ratio of acylated to non-acylated anthocyanins can vary significantly in purple carrot germplasm. Additionally, anthocyanin synthesis and accumulation can also be influenced by a wide range of external factors, such as abiotic stressors and/or chemical elicitors, directly affecting the anthocyanin yield and stability potential in food and beverage products. Recent advances in carrot anthocyanin genetics regarding the development of innovative molecular tools to improve the yield, product performance and stability of carrot anthocyanins for use as a natural food colorantwill be presented and current knowledge gaps will be discussed.