The 5 types of pigments in plants prove that they are not only green. The presence of other pigments makes plants can have a variety of colors.
So far, we may recognize green leaves. However, it’s actually not the only color they have.
There are a total of 5 types of pigments that plants have. Here is the explanation.
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5 Types of Pigments in Plants, What are their Functions?
You may have seen the red betel plant. The red color of the betel leaves occurs because they contain other pigments in their tissues.
The same thing can happen in other plants. For more details, here are 5 pigments in plant leaves.
Chlorophyll
This first pigment is also known as leaf green. Just like its name, chlorophyll causes green color in plants.
Chlorophyll will absorb solar energy and also carry out the process of photosynthesis in plants. In addition, this substance is useful in metabolic functions such as growth and respiration (breathing).
Read Also: Functions of the Endodermis in Plant Roots and Other Forming Cells
Flavonoid
This is the largest group of pigment compounds. Flavonoids consist of several types, for example, chalcones and maple tree which can give a yellow color to the flowers.
The function of flavonoids is to protect the lower leaf tissue from damage caused by ultraviolet radiation.
Then there are also anthocyanins that give pink, red, purple, and blue colors. This substance is a derivative of glycosides and anthocyanidins.
Carotenoids
This plant pigment consists of orange and yellow colors that are present in most photosynthetic organisms.
Carotenoids as one of the 5 types of pigments in plants can be found in the roots of carrots and tomatoes. This pigment is also abundant in green leaves.
Cryptochromes and Phototropins
Phototropins are a second class of blue light photoreceptors that were first identified in the late 1980s. This pigment serves to optimize the photosynthetic efficiency of plants.
While cryptochrome is a photoreceptor blue light / UV-A. According to recent research, cryptochrome is present in all kingdoms of plantae.
Mosses and ferns are two plants that show the presence of two to five cryptochrome genes.
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Phycobilin
Finally, there is phycobilin which is a tetrapyrrole pigment molecule from both straight and open chains. Phycobilins are usually found in eukaryotic red algae and prokaryotic cyanobacteria.
There are four types of phycobilins, one of which is fitromobilin. This type of phycobilin is an important photoreceptor for regulating various aspects of plant growth and development.
While the other three types are phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin. Phycoerythrin itself plays a role in photosynthesis because it can absorb light energy in the green spectrum region.
Those are the 5 types of pigments in plants and what colors they produce.
In addition to producing color, it turns out that these 5 pigments also have important and different roles in plant physiological processes. (R10/HR-Online)
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