New Zealand Journal of Botany abstract
B98045Received 13 July 1998; accepted 11 September
1998
Short communication
Do anthocyanins protect leaves of New Zealand native species from UV-B?
KEVIN S. GOULD
BRIAN D. QUINN
Plant Science Group
School of Biological Sciences
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, New Zealand
email: k.gould@auckland.ac.nz
Abstract Anthocyanin pigments must reside in the uppermost
tissues of a leaf if they are to be effective as UV-B filters. However, in our
survey of leaves and phylloclades from 25 native New Zealand plants, only four
species held anthocyanins in the upper epidermis and/or hypodermis. For 18
species, anthocyanins were located in vacuoles of the palisade and/or spongy
mesophyll, the same tissues that are potentially susceptible to UV-B-induced
photoinhibition. Leaf pigmentation patterns varied among species and were
correlated to the histological distributions of anthocyanins. Most species held
cyanidin-derived pigments. UV-B filtration cannot be regarded as a unified
theory for anthocyanin function in leaves.
Keywords anthocyanin; flavonoid; leaf; phylloclade; anatomy;
UV-B; New Zealand
Abbreviations PC = paper chromatography, TLC = thin layer
chromatography, Cy = cyanidin, Dp = delphinidin, Pg = pelargonidin, Pn =
peonidin, Pt = petunidin
