The cellular and genetic basis of structural colour in plants

•Structural colours are produced by nanoscale structures that interfere with light.•In plants structural colours can be produced in the leaves, flowers and fruit.•Analysis of the cellular and genetic basis of plant structural colours is very new.•Common developmental pathways are modified to produce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in plant biology 2019-02, Vol.47, p.81-87
Main Authors: Airoldi, Chiara A., Ferria, Jordan, Glover, Beverley J
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:•Structural colours are produced by nanoscale structures that interfere with light.•In plants structural colours can be produced in the leaves, flowers and fruit.•Analysis of the cellular and genetic basis of plant structural colours is very new.•Common developmental pathways are modified to produce colour effects. While the pathways that produce plant pigments have been well studied for decades, the use by plants of nanoscale structures to produce colour effects has only recently begun to be studied. A variety of plants from across the plant kingdom have been shown to use different mechanism to generate structural colours in tissues as diverse as leaves, flowers and fruits. In this review we explore the cellular mechanisms by which these nanoscale structures are built and discuss the first insights that have been published into the genetic pathways underpinning these traits.
ISSN:1369-5266
1879-0356
DOI:10.1016/j.pbi.2018.10.002