A possible role of an anthocyanin filter in low-intensity light stress-induced flowering in Perilla frutescens var. crispa

The red-leaved form of Perilla frutescens var. crispa was induced to flower by low-intensity light stress. The leaves of this form are normally red, but turned green under low-intensity light due to anthocyanin depletion in the epidermis. Flowering did not occur when plants were grown under light passed through a red-colored cellophane paper, which has an absorption spectrum similar to that of anthocyanins. High-concentration anthocyanins may play the role of a red-colored optical filter under normal light conditions, and this filter effect may be lost under low-intensity light, causing a change in the wavelength characteristics of the light with which the mesophyll cells are irradiated. This change may induce a photobiological effect leading to flowering. The gene expression and enzyme activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), the key enzyme for anthocyanin biosynthesis, decreased under low-intensity light. L-2-aminooxy-3- phenylpropionic acid (AOPP), which is widely used as a PAL inhibitor, inhibited low-intensity light stress-induced flowering and increased PAL activity and anthocyanin content. The inhibition of flowering by AOPP in P. frutescens may be through different mechanisms than PAL inhibition. (C) 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.