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How to make a red flower: the combinatorial effect of pigments.

ABSTRACT: Red flowers have evolved repeatedly across angiosperms and are frequently examined in an ecological context. However, less is known about the biochemical basis of red colouration in different taxa. In this study, we examine the spectral properties, anthocyanin composition and carotenoid expression of red flowers in the tomato family, Solanaceae, which have evolved independently multiple times across the group. Our study demonstrates that Solanaceae typically make red flowers either by the sole production of red anthocyanins or, more commonly, by the dual production of purple or blue anthocyanins and orange carotenoids. In using carotenoids to modify the effect of purple and/or blue anthocyanins, these Solanaceae species have converged on the same floral hue as those solely producing red anthocyanins, even when considering the visual system of pollinators. The use of blue anthocyanins in red flowers appears to differ from other groups, and suggests that the genetic changes underlying evolutionary shifts to red flowers may not be as predictable as previously suggested.

SUBMITTER: Ng J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4804202 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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How to make a red flower: the combinatorial effect of pigments.

Ng Julienne J Smith Stacey D SD

AoB PLANTS 20160323

Red flowers have evolved repeatedly across angiosperms and are frequently examined in an ecological context. However, less is known about the biochemical basis of red colouration in different taxa. In this study, we examine the spectral properties, anthocyanin composition and carotenoid expression of red flowers in the tomato family, Solanaceae, which have evolved independently multiple times across the group. Our study demonstrates that Solanaceae typically make red flowers either by the sole p ...[more]

PMID: 26933150

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Project description:Twelve species of Hypomyces/Cladobotryum producing red pigments are reported growing in various tropical areas of the world. Ten of these are described as new, including teleomorphs for two previously known anamorphic species. In two species the teleomorph has been found in nature and in three others it was obtained in culture; only anamorphs are known for the rest. None of the studied tropical collections belongs to the common temperate species H. rosellus and H. odoratus to which the tropical teleomorphic collections had previously been assigned. Instead, taxa encountered in the tropics are genetically and morphologically distinct from the nine species of Hypomyces/Cladobotryum producing red pigments known from temperate regions. Besides observed host preferences, anamorphs of several species can spread fast on soft ephemeral agaricoid basidiomata but the slower developing teleomorphs are mostly found on polyporoid basidiomata or bark. While a majority of previous records from the tropics involve collections from Central America, this paper also reports the diversity of these fungi in the Paleotropics. Africa appears to hold a variety of taxa as five of the new species include material collected in scattered localities of this mostly unexplored continent. In examining distribution patterns, most of the taxa do not appear to be pantropical. Some species are known only from the Western Hemisphere, while others have a geographic range from southeastern Asia to Africa or Australia. The use of various morphological characters of anamorphs and teleomorphs as well as culture characteristics in species delimitation is evaluated. For detecting genetic segregation, partial sequences of the two largest subunits of the ribosomal polymerase perform the best in terms of providing informative sites and the number of well-supported groups recognised in the phylogenies. These are followed by the sequence data of the translation-elongation factor 1-alpha, while the ribosomal DNA ITS regions are of only limited use in distinguishing species and their phylogenetic relationships.

Project description:BackgroundCyclamen is a popular and economically significant pot plant crop in several countries. Molecular breeding technologies provide opportunities to metabolically engineer the well-characterized flavonoid biosynthetic pathway for altered anthocyanin profile and hence the colour of the flower. Previously we reported on a genetic transformation system for cyclamen. Our aim in this study was to change pigment profiles and flower colours in cyclamen through the suppression of flavonoid 3', 5'-hydroxylase, an enzyme in the flavonoid pathway that plays a determining role in the colour of anthocyanin pigments.ResultsA full-length cDNA putatively identified as a F3'5'H (CpF3'5'H) was isolated from cyclamen flower tissue. Amino acid and phylogeny analyses indicated the CpF3'5'H encodes a F3'5'H enzyme. Two cultivars of minicyclamen were transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens with an antisense CpF3'5'H construct. Flowers of the transgenic lines showed modified colour and this correlated positively with the loss of endogenous F3'5'H transcript. Changes in observed colour were confirmed by colorimeter measurements, with an overall loss in intensity of colour (C) in the transgenic lines and a shift in hue from purple to red/pink in one cultivar. HPLC analysis showed that delphinidin-derived pigment levels were reduced in transgenic lines relative to control lines while the percentage of cyanidin-derived pigments increased. Total anthocyanin concentration was reduced up to 80% in some transgenic lines and a smaller increase in flavonol concentration was recorded. Differences were also seen in the ratio of flavonol types that accumulated.ConclusionTo our knowledge this is the first report of genetic modification of the anthocyanin pathway in the commercially important species cyclamen. The effects of suppressing a key enzyme, F3'5'H, were wide ranging, extending from anthocyanins to other branches of the flavonoid pathway. The results illustrate the complexity involved in modifying a biosynthetic pathway with multiple branch points to different end products and provides important information for future flower colour modification experiments in cyclamen.

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How to make a red flower: the combinatorial effect of pigments.

Publications

How to make a red flower: the combinatorial effect of pigments.

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