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Chemical Mechanism of Petal Color Change in Oenothera Flowers during Senescence

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Submitted:

26 May 2018

Posted:

28 May 2018

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Abstract
Oenothera flower petals change color during senescence. When in full bloom, the flowers of O. tetraptera are white and those of O. laciniata and O. stricta are yellow; however, the colors change to pink and orange, respectively, when the petals fade. We analyzed the flavonoid components in these petals as a function of senescence using HPLC-DAD and LC-MS. In all three species, cyanidin 3-glucoside (Cy3G) was found in faded petals, and the content of Cy3G increased in senescence. In full bloom (0 h), no Cy3G was detected in any of the petals, but after 12 h, the content of Cy3G in O. tetraptera was 0.97 μmol/gFW and that in O. laciniata was 1.82 μmol/gFW. Together with anthocyanins, major flavonoid components in petals were identified. Quercitrin was detected in the petals of O. tetraptera, and isosalipurposide was found in the petals of O. laciniata and O. stricta. The content of quercitrin did not change during senescence, but that of isosalipurposide in O. laciniata increased from 3.4 μmol/gFW at 0 h to 4.8 μmol/gFW at 12 h. The color change in all the three Oenothera flowers was confirmed to be due to the de novo biosynthesis of Cy3G.
Keywords: 
cyanidin 3-O-glucoside; flower senescence; isosalipurposide; Oenothera; petal color change; quercitrin
Subject: 
Chemistry and Materials Science  -   Organic Chemistry
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.

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