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Science 17 January 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5605, pp. 352 - 353
DOI: 10.1126/science.1081096
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Perspectives

PLANT BIOLOGY:
Seeing Red

Bonnie Bartel and Seiichi P. T. Matsuda

Although flavonoids contribute to the red, violet, and blue pigmentation of many flowers and seeds, their biosynthetic pathway is still being elucidated. In their Perspective, Bartel and Matsuda discuss new work (Xie et al.) revealing that the biosynthetic enzyme BANYULS is important for regulating the relative amounts of two types of flavonoids, the anthocyanins and the condensed tannins, both of which are powerful antioxidants that confer health benefits on humans when eaten.

B. Bartel is in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and S. P. T. Matsuda is in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA. E-mail: matsuda{at}rice.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase cDNA from non-Anthocyanin-Producing Species in the Caryophyllales.
S. Shimada, K. Takahashi, Y. Sato, and M. Sakuta (2004)
Plant Cell Physiol. 45, 1290-1298
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Proanthocyanidin-Accumulating Cells in Arabidopsis Testa: Regulation of Differentiation and Role in Seed Development.
I. Debeaujon, N. Nesi, P. Perez, M. Devic, O. Grandjean, M. Caboche, and L. Lepiniec (2003)
PLANT CELL 15, 2514-2531
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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