Alfalfa Flower Color Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Profiles

Integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics data from five alfalfa flower types (white and four purple shades) reveals the molecular basis of purple color variation. The analysis identified 580 common significant differentially expressed genes (CSDEGs), including 24 transcription factors, and quantified key anthocyanin pigments like delphinidin-3,5-O-diglucoside. Data was generated by Hongqi Du and published in 2026 under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Use Cases

• Correlate expression levels of 580 CSDEGs with anthocyanin content measurements across five flower types.
• Identify candidate transcription factors, such as MYB and bHLH genes, from the 24 TFs within the CSDEGs for regulatory network analysis.
• Model the relationship between blue-to-red pigment ratios and gene expression trends across the ZH1 to ZH4 purple gradient.
• Validate transcriptomic findings by linking novel genes MSTRG.59017 and MSTRG.14861 to changes in delphinidin and malvidin derivative concentrations.

Strengths

• Data integrates two omics layers (metabolomics and transcriptomics) for a multi-faceted analysis of flower color.
• Analysis is focused on 580 common significant differentially expressed genes (CSDEGs) identified across four comparisons.
• Study quantifies specific anthocyanin molecules, including delphinidin-3,5-O-diglucoside and malvidin-3,5-O-diglucoside.

Limitations

• Dataset is small in file size (530.7 KB), suggesting it contains summary or processed results rather than raw sequencing reads.
• Sample scope is limited to five specific flower types from a single plant species, Medicago sativa L.
• Column names and row counts for the underlying data tables are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

Figshare, authored by Hongqi Du.

Collection Method

Integrated analysis using LC-ESI-MS/MS for metabolomics and RNA-seq mapped to the Medicago reference genome for transcriptomics.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.