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第一作者:Rox Middleton
第一单位:剑桥大学
通讯作者:Silvia Vignolini
Abstract
背景回顾: Viburnum tinus is an evergreen shrub that is native to the Mediterranean region but cultivated widely in Europe and around the world. It produces ripe metallic blue fruits throughout winter. Despite its limited fleshy pulp, its high lipid content makes it a valuable resource to the small birds that act as its seed-dispersers.
主要发现: Here, we find that the metallic blue appearance of the fruits is produced by globular lipid inclusions arranged in a disordered multilayer structure. This structure is embedded in the cell walls of the epicarp and underlaid with a dark layer of anthocyanin pigments. 研究结论:The presence of such large, organized lipid aggregates in plant cell walls represents a new mechanism for structural coloration and may serve as an honest signal of nutritional content.
摘 要
地中海荚蒾是一种常绿灌木,自然分布于地中海地区,现欧洲地区以及全球范围内被广泛种植。在整个冬季,地中海荚蒾会结出带有蓝色金属光泽的果子。尽管这种果子果肉有限,但其所富含脂质使其成为小型鸟类的食物来源,而这些鸟类也有助于地中海荚蒾种子的扩散。本文中,作者发现地中海荚蒾的金属蓝种子是由球状脂质包裹体以无序方式排列而成的多层结构所导致的。该结构嵌合在果皮的细胞壁之中,并且被一层深色的花青素所覆盖。植物细胞壁中如此大规模的、有组织的脂质聚集体代表了一个新的结构着色机制,可能作为果实营养含量的真实信号。
通讯作者
**Silvia Vignolini** 研究方向: 自然界中的光学结构。
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.005
Journal: Current Biology
Published date: August 06, 2020
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