Discovery of Anthocyanin Biosynthetic Pathway in Cosmos caudatus Kunth. Using Omics Analysis

Cosmos caudatus Kunth. or “king’s salad” contains high values of nutritional compounds that act as health promoters. Although widely consumed for its medicinal value, information on phytochemical contents and their biosynthesis in the species is scarce. Among interesting are anthocyanins possess a dual role; an antioxidant natural colorant. A complete anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway C. was elucidated using transcriptomics, metabolomics, anatomical approaches this study. The transcriptomic analysis revealed genes encoding enzymes transcription factors relevant to latter pathway. total 11 cyanidin, pelargonidin, delphinidin derivatives significantly abundant were identified, correlating with mainstream gene occurrence further validated by light microscopy. Anthocyanin pigments detected at epidermal layer leaf, stem, flower, cortex stem root. To our knowledge, first work has delineated Malaysia’s underutilized plant, This study correlated multi-omics data will help integrate systems biology synthetic biology, detailed understanding molecular mechanism characterization heterologous expression studies.