EYE-CATCHER
Turning white into red
A petunia needs control factors and enzymes to create its red colour.
Blooming genetics: Four species of petunia (column 1), three control factors (columns 2 to 4) and four enzymes (columns 5 to 8) were tested to find out how the flowers create their colour. | Image: A. E. Berardi et al. (2021)
In order to attract hummingbirds to pollinate it, the petunia species P. exserta – which was originally white – developed a red pigment (see row 2). A team led by Cris Kuhlemeier at the University of Bern has figured out how it did this by switching off specific genes. If the gene for a specific control factor is switched off, the flower remains white (column 3), and if a gene for two enzymes is switched off, it remains pale (columns 5, 6). The lilac petunia produces its colour in a different way.
A. E. Berardi et al.: Complex evolution of novel red floral color in Petunia. The Plant Cell (2021)
