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| An image of a blue petunia./ Courtesy of hddesktops.com |
By Kim Su-mi
According to livescience.com, mysteriously blue petunias get their rare color from a molecular defect in a system that controls the acidity of the flowers' cells.
A research team at the University of Amsterdam conducted a study focusing on the blue type of petunias whose color is usually red or violet and revealed a new cellular "pump" in plants that researchers had never seen before.
This finding could be used to manipulate colors in other flowers and new flavors in fruits, wines and juices, researchers reported on Jan. 2 in the journal Cell Reports.
From the 19th century, efforts to solve this mystery had abounded.
One theory argued that the petals of blue petunias were less acidic which somehow altered their color and another suggested that it was due to a different formation of the chemicals.
The research found that the cells move materials across their membranes with the help of tiny pumps which also enable them to balance their acidity.
Petal cells have different pH levels in various compartments and the study has confirmed that it is this pump that moves protons across membranes.
It is different from other cellular pumps in plants as it allows acidity to build up more than any other types.
In blue petunias, the researchers found, genetic defects skew this pumping system so that the increase in acidity does not occur.
These genes are likely to be also important in different types of plants and that they may be codes for other parts of plants.
They pointed out that it may be their blue color that grab people's attention but it is less likely than red or violet to attract pollinators such as bees.
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