Regulation of flower pigmentation and growth: Multiple signaling pathways control anthocyanin synthesis in expanding petals

Abstract

induction of anthocyanin gene transcription and for accumula-Anthocyanins are the major flower pigments in higher plants.tion of the pigment in the developing corolla. It was also In most cases, anthocyanin accumulation is an integral part of flower development and the processes of petal pigmentation shown that the effect of these signals is not specific for the pigment's biosynthesis, they also control petal cell expansion and cell expansion are tightly linked. Activation of the anand induce the expression of genes from various pathways. thocyanin pathway during petal development requires a complex interaction between environmental and developmentalThese results support a model in which GAs, light and sugars promote the activity of master transcription regulators that signals. Using Petunia hybrida flowers as a model, some of these signals were identified and characterized. Gibberellins control various pathways to complete the entire process of flower development.

Rose Scent

“…Scent production and emission peak at the advanced stages of flower development, during cell expansion (Guterman et al, 2002). Other secondary metabolites involved in the attraction of pollinators, such as anthocyanins and carotenoids, also accumulate to high levels during this later phase (Vishnevetsky et al, 1999;Weiss, 2000).…”

Gibberellin-Induced Gene Expression Associated with Cytoplasmic Male Sterility in Sunflower

“…Reproductive development is gibberellins (GAs) dependent in a range of plant species (20,32,35,37,38,56). Evidence of the involvement of GAs in fl ower development has resulted from studies of mutants that are affected in GA biosynthesis or signal transduction.…”

Sucrose-Specific Induction of the Anthocyanin Biosynthetic Pathway in Arabidopsis

“…Anthocyanin biosynthesis was often observed in plants germinated or grown on a sugar-containing medium (Mita et al, 1997;Németh et al, 1998;Baier et al, 2004). The chalcone synthase (CHS) gene derived from petunia (Petunia hybrida) petals in transgenic Arabidopsis leaves was induced by sugars (Tsukaya et al, 1991), and petunia corollas cultured in vitro without Suc do not show any pigmentation (Weiss, 2000). Petunia and Arabidopsis CHS genes are indeed characterized by the presence of Suc boxes in the 5#-flanking regions that may be also found in the Suc-inducible sporamin and amylase genes (Tsukaya et al, 1991).…”