Re: HYB: pigments: anthocyanic vacuolar inclusions[L. Mann]

Linda, I didn't read "inner" in the sense of being in the supportive central
layer of the petals.  I believe it meant in the "heart" of the flower--deep
inside, which by analogy with iris petals would be in the base of the
standards and claw or haft of the falls.

Pigments occur ONLY, as I understand it, in the epidermal layer, which wraps
around the supportive layer, both front, back and edges.

As to anthocyanins in the plastids--not what I get out of Buchanan, Gruissem &
Jones, eds., *Biochemistry & Molecular Bioloty of Plants."  The cell
structures are organized in such a way that oil soluble materials are in
membrane-covered structures (plastids) and water soluble materials, among
which are water soluble anthocyanins are in the cell sap in general--which is
most visible and mostly occuring in the vacuole, which is far from empty, by
the way.

The rest of the cell is so full of other things there isn't room for the
"juice" that holds the anthocyanin and flavone pigments in solution.

Anthocyanins HAVE proteins as part of their structure--hung from the basic
"wire framework" so to speak like ornaments on a Christmas tree.  Included in
these hanging ornaments are sugars bound to proteins in various places.  Which
sugar, which protein on which site of attachment on the basic double ring of
the anthocanin's core is part of what determines the color tone of the
pigment.

I would bet most anything it is through these points of linkage and what
normally may be found there is how the structure of the AE/AVI is bound
together by the central protein "glue."

I would wager that this epidermal-extension characteristic plus AVI/AE is also
what makes the difference between the fall overlay and the "corona" (re Fred
Kerr) edge pattern, the combination of which we've called UMBRATA.  Since the
fall overlay pigmented part is "different" although in a variety of patterns,
including those veined ones, from what we see in the edge it seems quite
possible that the difference, thus the cause, of the corona/center contrast
lies in the genetics that determine the location of the binder
protein--OR--the presence/absence of the epidermal extensions on the cell
surface.

More lab assignments for someone.

Neil Mogensen  z 7 western NC mountains

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