Anthocyanin pigmentation in seedlings of selected species of Phaseolus and Vigna (Fabaceae)

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Abstract
Seedlings of 31 taxa of Phaseolus and Vigna were grown in light (cool-white fluorescent, 600 lx) at 20 °C under a 16-h photoperiod. Anthocyanin pigmentation was present in all 9 taxa (6 species) of Phaseolus and in 22 taxa (12 species) of Vigna. Pigmentation appeared in less than 1 week and was usually intense in Phaseolus seedlings. Most Vigna seedlings required a longer period to develop a paler color. Malvidin was the major aglycone in five of the species of Phaseolus examined, whereas delphinidin and cyanidin were major aglycones in three species of Vigna. Anthocyanins were located in the subepidermal layer of the stem and hypocotyl of all taxa except two, P. vulgaris cv. Royalty and P. coccineus, both of which had pigment in the epidermal layer instead. Three Vigna species, V. longifolia (subgenus Lasiopron) and V. adenantha and V. caracalla (subgenus Sigmoidotropis), also had pigment in cortical cells. Anthocyanoplasts were evident only in members of the subgenus Ceratotropis. Numerical analysis of the anthocyanin data placed Vigna longifolia in association with members of Vigna subgenus Vigna, but the two species of Vigna subgenus Sigmoidotropis associated closely with members of the genus Phaseolus. It is concluded that several aspects of seedling anthocyanin pigmentation, when present, can provide additional data useful to the taxonomy of the Phaseolus–Vigna complex. Characters of interest include speed of the photoresponse, tissue site of pigmentation, chemical nature of the pigments, and presence or absence of anthocyanoplasts.

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