Red coloration in young tropical leaves associated with reduced fungal pathogen damage

The adaptive significance of red coloration in tropical forest leaves remains unclear. In vivo assays show that there is a significant negative correlation between anthocyanin pigments in young leaves and fungal pathogen damage. This supports a previous hypothesis that anthocyanins may protect young...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biotropica 2016-03, Vol.48 (2), p.150-153
Main Authors: Tellez, Peter, Rojas, Enith, Van Bael, Sunshine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anthocyanins
Calonectria sp
canopy crane system
color
fungi
INSIGHTS
leaf development
leaves
Panama
pathogens
tropical forests
tropical wet forest
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The adaptive significance of red coloration in tropical forest leaves remains unclear. In vivo assays show that there is a significant negative correlation between anthocyanin pigments in young leaves and fungal pathogen damage. This supports a previous hypothesis that anthocyanins may protect young leaves from fungal damage during the vulnerable period of leaf expansion.
ISSN:0006-3606
1744-7429
DOI:10.1111/btp.12303