Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2019, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (10): 1307-1313.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2019.0043

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Variation of Flower Colors and Their Relationships With Anthocyanins in Cultivars of Camellia japonica

LI Xin-lei, WANG Jie, YIN Heng-fu, FAN Zheng-qi, LI Ji-yuan   

  1. Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou 311400, China
  • Received:2019-01-23 Online:2019-10-25 Published:2019-10-23

Abstract: The flower colors, anthocyanin components and contents in 22 cultivars of C. japonica, which were categorized into 4 color series including white, pink, red and dark red, were determined. Flower colors were measured by CIE L*a*b* scale, and anthocyanin components and contents were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight massspectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS).The relationship between the variation of flower colors and anthocyanin components was explored by multiple liner regression analyses, which provided a theoretical basis for flower color breeding of C.japonica.The results show that seven anthocyanins were detected in cultivars of C. japonica, including cyanidin-3-O-β-galactoside(Cy3Ga), cyanidin-3-O-β-glucoside(Cy3G), cyanidin-3-O-[6-O-(E)-caffeoyl]-β-galactoside(Cy3GaECaf), cyanidin-3-O-[6-O-(E)-caffeoyl]-β-glucoside(Cy3GECaf),cyanidin-3-O-[6-O-(Z)-p-coumaroyl]-β-glucoside(Cy3GZpC), cyanidin-3-O-[6-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl]-β-galactoside(Cy3GaEpC) and cyanidin-3-O-[6-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl]-β-glucoside(Cy3GEpC). No anthocyanins were detected from white petals in cultivars of C. japonica, and the main anthocyanins from pink, red and dark red petals were Cy3G,Cy3GEpC and Cy3Ga. Total anthocyanin and the contents of Cy3G, Cy3GEpC and Cy3Ga from red petals were far higher than that from pink petals. Total anthocyanin and the contents of Cy3G, Cy3GEpC and Cy3Ga from dark red petals were far higher than that from red and pink petals. From pink, red to dark red, total anthocyanins and the main anthocyanins from petals in cultivars of C. japonica increased obviously, and the proportion of Cy3G and Cy3Ga also increased but that of Cy3GEpC decreased. It is concluded that Cy3G and Cy3GEpC were the main anthocyanins which determined the colors of petals in cultivars of C. japonica, and the accumulation of their contents enhanced the red color of petals.

Key words: Camellia japonica, flower color, variation, anthocyanin, ultra performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

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