Abstract: To further understand of the flower coloration mechanism of Rhododendron simsii, the anthocyanin compositions of seven lines were investigated, which provided the scientific basis for the flower color improvement for R. simsii. The Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart and CIE  system were used to describe the chromatic features of the R. simsii lines. The anthocyanin compositions of petals extracts were analyzed and quantified by the UPLC-Q-TOF-MS system combining with standard curve method.  The results showed that the flower colors of seven lines of R. simsii were categorized into three groups: red group, red-purple group and purple group. Eleven anthocyanins in petals were identified according to the standard substances and references as cyanidin 3-O-arabinoside, cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, cyanidin 3-O-galactoside, delphindin 3-O-arabinoside, delphindin 3-O-glucoside, malvidin 3-O-arabinoside, malvidin 3-O-glucoside, peonindin 3-O-arabinoside, peonindin 3-O-galactoside, petunidin 3-O-arabinoside and petunidin 3-O-glucoside. The red-flowered lines mainly contained cyanidin monoglycosides and peonindin monoglycosides, while the purple-flowered lines contained delphindin monoglycosides and malvidin monoglycosides. The results also showed that the anthocyanins content in red-flowered was much higher than that in red-purple and purple flowers. These results suggested the involvement of transcription factors or key genes in the up-regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in the red-flowered lines.

Key words: Rhododendron simsii, quantification, anthocyanin, floral pigmentation

摘要： 为了加深对映山红花色形成机制的认识，以7 个不同花色的映山红（Rhododendron simsii）株系为材料，研究了映山红花瓣花色苷的组成。分别利用英国皇家园艺学会比色卡和国际照明委员会表色系统对映山红花瓣的颜色进行了描述；通过UPLC-Q-TOF-MS 技术鉴定了7个映山红株系花瓣中花色苷的种类，并结合标准曲线法进行了相对定量分析。7个映山红株系按花色可分为3个组：红色组、紫红色组和紫色组。在映山红的花瓣中共鉴定出了11种花色苷成分，分别为：矢车菊素3-O-阿拉伯糖苷、矢车菊素3-O-葡萄糖苷、矢车菊素3-O-半乳糖苷、飞燕草素3-O-阿拉伯糖苷、飞燕草素3-O-葡萄糖苷、锦葵素3-O-阿拉伯糖苷、锦葵素3-O-葡萄糖苷、芍药花素3-O-阿拉伯糖苷、芍药花素3-O-葡萄糖苷、牵牛花素3-O-阿拉伯糖苷和牵牛花素3-O-葡萄糖苷。红色组花瓣中主要含有矢车菊素类糖苷与芍药花素类糖苷，紫色组花瓣中主要含牵牛花素类糖苷和锦葵素类糖苷，且红色组花瓣总花色素含量远高于紫红色和紫色花组，这表明在红色系中可能存在一些转录因子上调花色素生物合成途径或关键基因。

关键词: 映山红, 定量, 花色苷组分, 花色描述