Pattern formation underlying phytochrome-mediated anthocyanin synthesis in the cotyledons ofSinapis alba L.

The ability to respond to phytochrome (Pfr, the far-red light absorbing from of phytochrome) with anthocyanin synthesis appears first in some marginal regions of the abaxial epidermis of the mustard cotyledons and from there spreads gradually over the entire tissue (transient phase). The pertinent pattern is independent of environmental influences such as light quality and nutritional culture conditions. The competence for Pfr in the epidermal cells, with regard to the initial action of Pfr (concerning anthocyanin synthesis), appears considerably earlier than the ability for actual anthocyanin synthesis. An electron microscopical study of the ultrastructural changes occurring in vacuoles and plastids of the epidermal cells during the transient phase showed that a correlation only exists between the differentiation of central cell vacuoles, originating from the aleurone vacuoles, and the appearance of the ability to accumulate anthocyanin. It is suggested that the formation of a central cell vacuole is a prerequisite for anthocyanin accumulation in the epidermal cells of the mustard seedling cotyledons.