Molecular Biology Commons^™

Arctic Mustard Flower Color Polymorphism Controlled By Petal-Specific Downregulation At The Threshold Of The Anthocyanin Biosynthetic Pathway, Cynthia A. Dick, Jason Buenrostro, Timothy Butler, Matthew L. Carlson, Daniel J. Kliebenstein, Justen B. Whittall

Biology

Intra- and interspecific variation in flower color is a hallmark of angiosperm diversity. The evolutionary forces underlying the variety of flower colors can be nearly as diverse as the colors themselves. In addition to pollinator preferences, non-pollinator agents of selection can have a major influence on the evolution of flower color polymorphisms, especially when the pigments in question are also expressed in vegetative tissues. In such cases, identifying the target(s) of selection starts with determining the biochemical and molecular basis for the flower color variation and examining any pleiotropic effects manifested in vegetative tissues. Herein, we describe a widespread purple-white …