Abstract
The Chilean Puya species, Puya coerulea var. violacea and P. chilensis bear blue and pale-yellow flowers, respectively, while P. alpestris considered to be their hybrid-derived species has unique turquoise flowers. In this study, the chemical basis underlying the different coloration of the three Puya species was explored. We first isolated and identified three anthocyanins: delphinidin 3,3ʹ,5ʹ-tri-O-glucoside, delphinidin 3,3′-di-O-glucoside and delphinidin 3-O-glucoside; seven flavonols: quercetin 3-O-rutinoside-3′-O-glucoside, quercetin 3,3ʹ-di-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-rutinoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside, myricetin 3,3ʹ,5ʹ-tri-O-glucoside, myricetin 3,3ʹ-di-O-glucoside and laricitrin 3,5ʹ-di-O-glucoside; and six flavones: luteolin 4ʹ-O-glucoside, apigenin 4′-O-glucoside, tricetin 4ʹ-O-glucoside, tricetin 3ʹ,5ʹ-di-O-glucoside, tricetin 3ʹ-O-glucoside and selagin 5ʹ-O-glucoside, which is a previously undescribed flavone, from their petals. We also compared compositions of floral flavonoid and their aglycone among these species, which suggested that the turquoise species P. alpestris has an essentially intermediate composition between the blue and pale-yellow species. The vacuolar pH was relatively higher in the turquoise (pH 6.2) and pale-yellow (pH 6.2) flower species, while that of blue flower species was usual (pH 5.2). The flower color was reconstructed in vitro using isolated anthocyanin, flavonol and flavone at neutral and acidic pH, and its color was analyzed by reflectance spectra and the visual modeling of their avian pollinators. The modeling demonstrated that the higher pH of the turquoise and pale-yellow species enhances the chromatic contrast and spectral purity. The precise regulation of flower color by flavonoid composition and vacuolar pH may be adapted to the visual perception of their avian pollinator vision.
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Original data used for this study are available upon request to the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Hideo Shimizu, Atagawa Tropical & Alligator Garden, Japan, Dr. Chie Tsutsumi, Tsukuba Botanical Garden, National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan, and certain staff for offering the flowers of living collections. The authors are grateful to Professor, Dr. Naonobu Noda, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba-City, Ibaraki, Japan for his useful advice. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 22K05643.
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10265_2024_1531_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Supplementary file 1 (PDF 652 KB) Fig. S1. HMBC spectrum of 4. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent. Fig. S2. NOESY (blue, mixing time: 500 ms) spectrum of 4. Fig. S3. HMBC spectrum of 12. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent. Fig. S4. NOESY (blue, mixing time: 500 ms) spectrum of 12. Fig. S5. HMBC spectrum of 13. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent. Fig. S6. NOESY (blue, mixing time: 500 ms) spectrum of 13. Fig. S7. HSQC (blue) and HMBC (red) spectra of 14. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent. Fig. S8. NOESY (blue, mixing time: 500 ms) spectrum of 14. Fig. S9. HSQC (blue) and HMBC (red) spectra of 15. Fig. S10. NOESY (blue, mixing time: 500 ms) spectrum of 15. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent. Fig. S11. HSQC (blue) and HMBC (red) spectra of 16. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent. Fig. S12. NOESY (blue, mixing time: 500 ms) spectrum of 16. Methanol-d4 was used as the solvent.
10265_2024_1531_MOESM2_ESM.xlsx
Supplementary file 2 (XLSX 19 KB) Table. 1. HPLC profiles from the flowers of three Chilian Puya species. Table. 2. 1H (800 MHz) and 13C (200 MHz) NMR data of three flavonols (4, 12 and 15) from the flower of Puya species. Table 3. 1H (800 MHz) and 13 C (200 MHz) NMR data of three flavones (13, 14 and 16) from the flower of Puya species.
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Mizuno, T., Mori, S., Sugahara, K. et al. Floral pigments and their perception by avian pollinators in three Chilean Puya species. J Plant Res 137, 395–409 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-024-01531-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-024-01531-6