Ng Julienne, Smith Stacey D
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
AoB Plants. 2016 Mar 23;8. doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plw013. Print 2016.
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.
红色花朵在被子植物中反复进化，并且经常在生态学背景下进行研究。然而，对于不同分类群中红色着色的生化基础了解较少。在本研究中，我们研究了茄科（Solanaceae）红色花朵的光谱特性、花青素组成和类胡萝卜素表达，茄科在整个类群中已经独立进化了多次。我们的研究表明，茄科通常通过单独产生红色花青素，或者更常见的是通过同时产生紫色或蓝色花青素和橙色类胡萝卜素来形成红色花朵。在利用类胡萝卜素来改变紫色和/或蓝色花青素的效果时，即使考虑传粉者的视觉系统，这些茄科物种也与那些仅产生红色花青素的物种趋同于相同的花色。红色花朵中蓝色花青素的使用似乎与其他类群不同，这表明向红色花朵进化转变背后的基因变化可能不像之前认为的那样可预测。
