Abstract:

A full length cDNA of chalcone isomerase（CHI）was amplified from Anthurium andraeanum L.‘Dakota’by using RACE technology. The relationship between its expression patterns and anthocyanin content were dissected for the purpose of further improving the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway of anthurium. The results showed that the AnCHI cDNA was 1 117 bp with a 777 bp open reading frame in full-length which encoding 258 amino acids. AnCHI was expressed in different developing periods of spathes as well as in roots，stems，leaves and spadixes and the expression levels of AnCHI in the early stages（1–4）of spathes were significantly higher than that in mature stages（5–8）. The content of anthocyanin was changed consistently with the gene expression，while the recombinant expression vectors—pGEX-4T1-AnCHI was correctly expressed in prokaryotes. The research suggested that AnCHI may play an important role in promoting the anthocyanin synthesis of Anthurium andraeanum.

Key words: Anthurium andraeanum, AnCHI, anthocyanin, expression analysis