Precise spatio-temporal regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway leads to petal spot formation in Clarkia gracilis (Onagraceae).

ABSTRACT: Petal spots are widespread in angiosperms and are often implicated in pollinator attraction. Clarkia gracilis petals each have a single red-purple spot that contrasts against a pink background. The position and presence of spots in C. gracilis are determined by the epistatic interaction of alleles at two as yet unidentified loci. We used HPLC to identify the different pigments produced in the petals, and qualitative and quantitative RT-PCR to assay for spatio-temporal patterns of expression of different anthocyanin pathway genes. We found that spots contain different pigments from the remainder of the petal, being composed of cyanidin/peonidin-based, instead of malvidin-based anthocyanins. Expression assays of anthocyanin pathway genes showed that the dihydroflavonol-4-reductase 2 (Dfr2) g

SUBMITTER: Martins TR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3540125 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature