Characterization of color variation in bamboo sheath of Chimonobambusa hejiangensis by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and RNA sequencing

BACKGROUND: Chimonobambusa hejiangensis (C.hejiangensis) is a high-quality bamboo species native to China, known for its shoots that are a popular nutritional food. Three C.hejiangensis cultivars exhibit unique color variation in their shoot sheaths, however, the molecular mechanism behind this color change remains unclear. METHODS: We investigated flavonoid accumulation in the three bamboo cultivar sheaths using metabolomics and transcriptomics. RESULTS: UPLC-MS/MS identified 969 metabolites, with 187, 103, and 132 having differential accumulation in the yellow-sheath (YShe) vs. spot-sheath (SShe)/black-sheath (BShe) and SShe vs. BShe comparison groups. Flavonoids were the major metabolites that determined bamboo sheath color through differential accumulation of metabolites (DAMs) analysis. Additionally, there were 33 significantly differentially expressed flavonoid structural genes involved in the anthocyanin synthesis pathway based on transcriptome data. We conducted a KEGG analysis on DEGs and DAMs, revealing significant enrichment of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways. Using gene co-expression network analysis, we identified nine structural genes and 29 transcription factors strongly linked to anthocyanin biosynthesis. CONCLUSION: We identified a comprehensive regulatory network for flavonoid biosynthesis which should improve our comprehension of the molecular mechanisms responsible for color variation and flavonoid biosynthesis in bamboo sheaths. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-023-04494-3.