390 Action of the Genetic Material 



another). The sap pigments are anthoxanthins and anthocyanins. The 

 former are flavones, of ivory or yellow color, and may be glucosides or 

 not. They may act in all the ways mentioned. As copigments they 

 have a bluing effect upon anthocyanin. The latter are sap-soluble 

 glucosides with colors from scarlet to violet, purple, and blue. The 

 chemical difference between the xanthins and the anthocyanins is 

 mainly that in the flavones an O-atom is substituted in position 4. 

 Anthocyanins are mainly pelargonidins, cyanidins, and delphinidins 

 differing by the possession of 1, 2, or 3 OH groups on the side phenyl 

 ring. More than one of these pigments may be present in a plant, and 

 there are numerous chemical variations, such as methylation of one 

 or more OH groups, changes in the sugar residue, and addition of an 

 organic acid. All these variations and substitutions are under genie 

 control. The most important points are the sugar residues at position 

 3 or 5: glucose, galactose, cellobiose. Pelargonin, petunin, and others 

 are all 3-5 glycosides of pelargonidin, and so on. Without going into 

 details, we mention from the Primula work the action of some loci: K 

 modifies general anthocyanin substrate to the more intense 3-5 

 oxidized and methylated type; B produces anthoxanthin, copigmenting 

 and suppressing anthocyanin; R produces localized acid pH in the 

 petals and in the red corolla tubes of special forms; Dz produces 

 specific anthocyanin-pelargonidin 3-monoxide; G inhibits anthocyanin 

 in flower center and together with D inhibits the effect of R in petals. 

 From such work with many forms the following known types of genie 

 action are derived: 



I. CHEMICAL CHANGES OF ANTHOCYANIN 



1. Oxidation of the aglycone at 3 or 3 and 5 



2. Oxidation and methylation at the same positions 



3. Methylation of the aglycone at the same positions 



4. Glycosidic change from 3 to 3-5 type 



5. Acylation 



II. SAP PIGMENT PRODUCTION 



1. Anthoxanthin and anthocyanin 



2. Yellow anthoxanthin background and interaction 



3. Ivory anthoxanthin copigment interaction and copigment efiFects 



4. General anthocyanin background and interaction 



5. Specific anthocyanin background and interaction 



III. SAP PIGMENT REGULATION 



1. General intensification 



2. General suppression 



3. Local intensification 



4. Local suppression 



