Blackberries (Rubus spp.) are among the high added value food products relevant for human health due to the increasing evidence of the beneficial effects of polyphenols, which are very abundant in these fruits. Interestingly, these compounds also play a role on plant physiology, being especially relevant their role in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stress. Hence, we hypothesize that s...

The anthocyanin(Anth) content in leaves provides valuable information about the physiologocal status of plant. Thus, there is a need for accurate, efficient, practical methodologies to estimate this biochemical parameter. Hyperspectral measurement is a means of quickly and nondestructively assessing leaf Anth in situ. Wet chemical methods has traditionally been used for this purpose. Recently, ...

Antioxidant activities in the leaves and fruits of wild Vaccinium arctostaphylos (locally named Qare-Qat) from diff erent regions of Iran were evaluated using the stable 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical and ferric reducing/antioxidant power methods. Variations in antioxidant activity, total phenolic, anthocyanin, and fl avonoid content in fruit samples among genotypes was much greate...

A field-portable tool for nondestructive foliar anthocyanin content estimation would be beneficial to researchers in many areas of plant science. An existing commercial chlorophyll content meter was modified to measure an index of anthocyanin content. The ability of the experimental anthocyanin meter (ACM) to estimate total extractable anthocyanin content was tested in sugar maple (Acer sacchar...

Modification of anthocyanin plays an important role in increasing its stability in plants. Here, six anthocyanins were identified in peach (Prunus persica), and their structural diversity is attributed to glycosylation and methylation. Interestingly, peach is quite similar to the wild species Prunus ferganensis but differs from both Prunus davidiana and Prunus kansueasis in terms of anthocyanin...

Anthocyanins are major pigments in colored grape (Vitis vinifera) berries, and most of them are monomethoxylated or dimethoxylated. We report here the functional characterization of an anthocyanin O-methyltransferase (AOMT) from grapevine. The expression pattern in two cultivars with different anthocyanin methylation profiles (Syrah and Nebbiolo) showed a peak at start ripening (véraison), when...

The anthocyanin and chlorophyll contents in leaves provide valuable information about the physiological status of plants. Thus, there is a need for accurate, efficient, and practical methodologies to estimate these biochemical parameters of vegetation. In this study, we tested the performance and accuracy of several nondestructive, reflectance-based techniques for estimating anthocyanin and chl...

High-light leaves of the evergreen herb Galax urceolata exhibit a striking color change from green to red during winter months due to anthocyanin synthesis in outermost mesophyll cells. Here we investigate three possible functions of this color change. To test the hypothesis that anthocyanins function as light attenuators, maximum photosystem II efficiency (F(v)/F(m)) of red and green leaves wa...

Dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (DFR) is a key enzyme in the catalysis of the stereospecific reduction of dihydroflavonols to leucoanthocyanidins in anthocyanin biosynthesis. In the purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) cv. Ayamurasaki, expression of the IbDFR gene was strongly associated with anthocyanin accumulation in leaves, stems and roots. Overexpression of the IbDFR in Arabidopsis tt3 m...

Flavonoids are secondary metabolites that play important roles in plant physiology. Despite numerous studies examined the effects of available carbon (C) or nitrogen (N) on flavonoid biosynthesis, the mechanism of C/N interactive effects on flavonoid metabolism is still unclear. In this study, we analyzed the composition of flavonoids and the expression levels of flavonoid-related genes in leav...