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Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
New insight into the molecular mechanism of colour differentiation among floral segments in orchids
Bai-Jun Li1, Bao-Qiang Zheng1, Jie-Yu Wang2
1State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding; Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, 100091, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
An unbalanced pigment distribution among the sepal and petal segments results in various colour patterns of orchid flowers. Here, we explored this type of mechanism of colour pattern formation in flowers of the Cattleya hybrid 'KOVA'. Our study showed that pigment accumulation displayed obvious spatiotemporal specificity in the flowers and was likely regulated by three R2R3-MYB transcription factors. Before flowering, RcPAP1 was specifically expressed in the epichile to activate the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, which caused substantial cyanin accumulation and resulted in a purple-red colour. After flowering, the expression of RcPAP2 resulted in a low level of cyanin accumulation in the perianths and a pale pink colour, whereas RcPCP1 was expressed only in the hypochile, where it promoted α-carotene and lutein accumulation and resulted in a yellow colour. Additionally, we propose that the spatiotemporal expression of different combinations of AP3- and AGL6-like genes might participate in KOVA flower colour pattern formation.
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