Koichi Kakegawa

Cell cultures of Centaurea cyanus produce malonated anthocyanin in UV light

Abstract Callus cultures which produce anthocyanin under continuous irradiation of UV and white light were derived from the stem of blue-flowered Centaurea cyanus . From the callus a suspension culture, in which anthocyanin synthesis can be induced by UV light, was obtained. The pigment in the cell cultures was identified as cyanidin 3-(6″-malonylglucoside) which occurs in the leaf, but not the flowers, of the parent plant.

Xyloglucan from xylem-differentiating zones of Cryptomeria japonica

Xyloglucan was isolated from xylem-differentiating zones of Cryptomeria japonica. Endo-1,4-beta-glucanase digestion of the xyloglucan gave a series of oligosaccharides. These oligosaccharides were purified by gel permeation chromatography and normal-phase HPLC. Glycosyl-residue composition and glycosyl-linkage composition analyses. 1H NMR spectroscopy and FAB-mass spectrometry of the oligosaccharides showed that the xyloglucan was composed of five kinds of oligosaccharide. These oligosaccharides are commonly found in xyloglucan from dicot plants and are characterized as XXXG, XXLG, XXFG, XLLG and XLFG. These results suggest that xyloglucan from gymnosperms has similar structure to that of dicots.