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Journal ArticleDOI

Environmental Significance of Anthocyanins in Plant Stress Responses

01 Jul 1999-Photochemistry and Photobiology (Blackwell Publishing Ltd)-Vol. 70, Iss: 1, pp 1-9
TL;DR: The environmental induction of anthocyanins and their proposed importance in ameliorating environmental stresses induced by visible and UVB radiation, drought and cold temperatures are reviewed.
Abstract: — Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments found in all plant tissues throughout the plant kingdom. Our understanding of anthocyanin biosynthesis and its molecular control has greatly improved in the last decade. The adaptive advantages of anthocyanins, especially in non-reproductive tissues, is much less clear. Anthocyanins often appear transiently at specific developmental stages and may be induced by a number of environmental factors including visible and UVB radiation, cold temperatures and water stress. The subsequent production and localization of anthocyanins in root, stem and especially leaf tissues may allow the plant to develop resistance to a number of environmental stresses. This article reviews the environmental induction of anthocyanins and their proposed importance in ameliorating environmental stresses induced by visible and UVB radiation, drought and cold temperatures.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Developing spectral indices for prediction of leaf pigment content that are relatively insensitive to species and leaf structure variation and thus could be applied in larger scale remote-sensing studies without extensive calibration are developed.

2,660 citations


Cites background from "Environmental Significance of Antho..."

  • ...Anthocyanin content tends to be high in young leaves that also have low photosynthetic rates (Gamon & Surfus, 1999), in leaves of plants where growth has been limited by low temperature or other stresses (Chalker-Scott, 1999; Cobbina & Miller, 1987; Pietrini & Massacci, 1998), and in senescing leaves of certain species....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The accumulation of red or purple flavonoids is a hallmark of plant stress and mounting evidence points to diverse physiological functions for these compounds in the stress response.

1,654 citations


Cites background from "Environmental Significance of Antho..."

  • ...Progress continues to be made in understanding the roles of flavonoids in stress protection, as well as in defining the mechanisms that control the amounts and varieties of flavonoids that are produced in plants in response to diverse environmental cues [4]....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This brief review summarizes the influence of different abiotic factors include salt, drought, light, heavy metals, frost etc. on secondary metabolites in plants.
Abstract: Plant secondary metabolites are unique sources for pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavors, and industrially important biochemicals. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. Secondary metabolites play a major role in the adaptation of plants to the environment and in overcoming stress conditions. Environmental factors viz. temperature, humidity, light intensity, the supply of water, minerals, and CO2 influence the growth of a plant and secondary metabolite production. Drought, high salinity, and freezing temperatures are environmental conditions that cause adverse effects on the growth of plants and the productivity of crops. Plant cell culture technologies have been effective tools for both studying and producing plant secondary metabolites under in vitro conditions and for plant improvement. This brief review summarizes the influence of different abiotic factors include salt, drought, light, heavy metals, frost etc. o...

1,608 citations


Cites background from "Environmental Significance of Antho..."

  • ...Plant tissues containing anthocyanins are usually rather resistant to drought.(31) For example, a purple cultivar of chilli resists water stress better than a green cultivar....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A toolbox with definitions of key theoretical elements and a synthesis of the current understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying plasticity relevant to climate change is provided to provide clear directives for future research and stimulate cross-disciplinary dialogue on the relevance of phenotypic plasticity under climate change.

1,569 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Anthocyanins and betalains both in fresh and also processed fruit and vegetables serve two functions: They improve the overall appearance, but also contribute to consumers' health and well-being.
Abstract: Anthocyanins and betalains play important roles both in plant physiology, visual attraction for pollinators and seed dispersers, but also in food mainly defining its aesthetic value. Since anthocyanin and betalain structures allow to predict only part of their appearance, additional chemical and anatomical functions are required to modulate the appearance of plants and coloured food. Physiological effects that the same pigments exert in plants are supposedly similar to those which they show in humans following ingestion of coloured food. Therefore, anthocyanins and betalains both in fresh and also processed fruit and vegetables serve two functions: They improve the overall appearance, but also contribute to consumers' health and well-being.

914 citations

References
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Book
01 Jan 1972
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the responses of plants to environmental stresses and found that plants respond to environmental stress in response to various types of stressors, such as drought and flooding.
Abstract: Responses of plants to environmental stresses , Responses of plants to environmental stresses , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

4,843 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The characterization of genetically defined mutations has enabled the order of many reactions in anthocyanin synthesis and their modification to be elucidated, and the more recent developments in gene isolation and characterization are concentrated.
Abstract: Flavonoids represent a large class of secondary plant metabolites, of which anthocyanins are the most conspicuous class, dueto the wide range of colors resulting from their synthesis. Anthocyanins are important to many diverse functions within plants. Synthesis of anthocyanins in petals is undoubtedly intended to attract pollinators, whereas anthocyanin synthesis in seeds and fruits may aid in seed dispersal. Anthocyanins and other flavonoids can also be important as feeding deterrents and as protection against damage from UV irradiation. The existence of such a diverse range of functions and types of anthocyanins raises questions about how these compounds are synthesized and how their synthesis is regulated. The study of the genetics of anthocyanin synthesis began last century with Mendel’s work on flower color in peas. Since that time, there have been periods of intensive study into the genetics and biochemistry of pigment production in a number of different species. In the early studies, genetic loci were correlated with easily observable color changes. After the structures of anthocyanins and other flavonoids were determined, it was possible to correlate single genes with particular structural alterations of anthocyanins or with the presence or absence of particular flavonoids. Mutations in anthocyanin genes have been studied for many years because they are easily identified and because they generally have no deleterious effect on plant growth and development. In most cases, mutations affecting different steps of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were isolated and characterized well before their function was identified or the corresponding gene was isolated. More recently, many genes involved in the biosynthesis of anthocyanin pigments have been isolated and characterized using recombinant DNA technologies. Three species have been particularly important for elucidating the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway and for isolating genes controlling the biosynthesis of flavonoids: maize (Zea mays), snapdragon (Anfirrhinum majus), and petunia (Wtunia hybrida). Petunia has more recently become the organism of choice for isolating flavonoid biosynthetic genes and studying their interactions and regulation. At least 35 genes are known to affect flower color in petuniawiering and de Vlaming, 1984). Because this field of research has been reviewed fairly extensively in the past (Dooner et al., 1991; van Tunen and MOI, 1991; Gerats and Martin, 1992), in this review we concentrate on the more recent developments in gene isolation and characterization. A review of the genetics of flavonoid biosynthesis in other species was recently covered by Forkmann (1993). The characterization of genetically defined mutations has enabled the order of many reactions in anthocyanin synthesis and their modification to be elucidated. Some reactions have been postulated only on the basis of genetic studies and have not yet been demonstrated in vitro. Chemico-genetic studies have been very important in determining the enzymatic steps involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and modification. The generation of transposon-tagged mutations and the subsequent cloning of the transposons provided a relatively straightforward means of isolating many genes from maize (Wienand et al., 1990) and snapdragon (Martin et al., 1991). However, a number of genes in the pathway have not been amenable to transposon tagging. Anthocyanin biosynthetic genes have been isolated using a range of methodologies, including protein purification, transposon tagging, differential screening, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Functions of isolated anthocyanin genes can be confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) mapping, complementation, or expression in heterologous systems. Reverse genetics has also been used recently to identify gene function; this requires a welldefined pathway to correlate phenotype with gene function. Once a gene has been isolated from one species, it is usually a straightforward task to isolate the homologous gene from other species by using the original clone as a molecular probe.

1,405 citations

01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the more recent developments in gene isolation and characterization of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and study their interactions and regulation in different species of maize, snapdragon, and petunia.
Abstract: Flavonoids represent a large class of secondary plant metabolites, of which anthocyanins are the most conspicuous class, dueto the wide range of colors resulting from their synthesis. Anthocyanins are important to many diverse functions within plants. Synthesis of anthocyanins in petals is undoubtedly intended to attract pollinators, whereas anthocyanin synthesis in seeds and fruits may aid in seed dispersal. Anthocyanins and other flavonoids can also be important as feeding deterrents and as protection against damage from UV irradiation. The existence of such a diverse range of functions and types of anthocyanins raises questions about how these compounds are synthesized and how their synthesis is regulated. The study of the genetics of anthocyanin synthesis began last century with Mendel’s work on flower color in peas. Since that time, there have been periods of intensive study into the genetics and biochemistry of pigment production in a number of different species. In the early studies, genetic loci were correlated with easily observable color changes. After the structures of anthocyanins and other flavonoids were determined, it was possible to correlate single genes with particular structural alterations of anthocyanins or with the presence or absence of particular flavonoids. Mutations in anthocyanin genes have been studied for many years because they are easily identified and because they generally have no deleterious effect on plant growth and development. In most cases, mutations affecting different steps of the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were isolated and characterized well before their function was identified or the corresponding gene was isolated. More recently, many genes involved in the biosynthesis of anthocyanin pigments have been isolated and characterized using recombinant DNA technologies. Three species have been particularly important for elucidating the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway and for isolating genes controlling the biosynthesis of flavonoids: maize (Zea mays), snapdragon (Anfirrhinum majus), and petunia (Wtunia hybrida). Petunia has more recently become the organism of choice for isolating flavonoid biosynthetic genes and studying their interactions and regulation. At least 35 genes are known to affect flower color in petuniawiering and de Vlaming, 1984). Because this field of research has been reviewed fairly extensively in the past (Dooner et al., 1991; van Tunen and MOI, 1991; Gerats and Martin, 1992), in this review we concentrate on the more recent developments in gene isolation and characterization. A review of the genetics of flavonoid biosynthesis in other species was recently covered by Forkmann (1993). The characterization of genetically defined mutations has enabled the order of many reactions in anthocyanin synthesis and their modification to be elucidated. Some reactions have been postulated only on the basis of genetic studies and have not yet been demonstrated in vitro. Chemico-genetic studies have been very important in determining the enzymatic steps involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and modification. The generation of transposon-tagged mutations and the subsequent cloning of the transposons provided a relatively straightforward means of isolating many genes from maize (Wienand et al., 1990) and snapdragon (Martin et al., 1991). However, a number of genes in the pathway have not been amenable to transposon tagging. Anthocyanin biosynthetic genes have been isolated using a range of methodologies, including protein purification, transposon tagging, differential screening, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Functions of isolated anthocyanin genes can be confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) mapping, complementation, or expression in heterologous systems. Reverse genetics has also been used recently to identify gene function; this requires a welldefined pathway to correlate phenotype with gene function. Once a gene has been isolated from one species, it is usually a straightforward task to isolate the homologous gene from other species by using the original clone as a molecular probe.

1,345 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results demonstrate that both flavonoids and other phenolic compounds play important roles in vivo in plant UV-B protection and are highly sensitive to the damaging effects ofUV-B radiation.
Abstract: Increases in the terrestrial levels of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation (280 to 320 nm) due to diminished stratospheric ozone have prompted an investigation of the protective mechanisms that contribute to UV-B tolerance in plants. In response to UV-B stress, flowering plants produce a variety of UV-absorptive secondary products derived from phenylalanine. Arabidopsis mutants with defects in the synthesis of these compounds were tested for UV-B sensitivity. The transparent testa-4 (tt4) mutant, which has reduced flavonoids and normal levels of sinapate esters, is more sensitive to UV-B than the wild type when grown under high UV-B irradiance. The tt5 and tt6 mutants, which have reduced levels of UV-absorptive leaf flavonoids and the monocyclic sinapic acid ester phenolic compounds, are highly sensitive to the damaging effects of UV-B radiation. These results demonstrate that both flavonoids and other phenolic compounds play important roles in vivo in plant UV-B protection.

980 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Resistance in many plant-pathogen interactions is accompanied by the rapid deployment of a multicomponent defense response, which may be induced specifically or nonspecifically by a range of biotic and non-biotic factors.
Abstract: Resistance in many plant-pathogen interactions is accompanied by the rapid deployment of a multicomponent defense response. The individual compo­ nents of this include the hypersensitive response (HR)!, chemical weapons such as antimicrobial phytoalexins and hydrolytic enzymes, and structural defensive barriers such as lignin and hydroxyproline-rich cell wall proteins. Signals for activation of these various defenses are thought to be initiated in response to recognition of pathogen avirulence determinants (elicitors) by plant receptors. The defense response may be induced specifically (deter­ mined by the avirulent genotype of the pathogen race and the resistant genotype of the host cultivar) or nonspecifically by a range of biotic and

654 citations