Photosensitivity of Anthocyanin Production in Dark-grown and Light-pretreated Zea-mays Seedlings

Anthocyanin production in roots and shoots of Zea mays L. seedlings was higher in blue than in red light and was very low in far red light. Under dichromatic irradiation, a phytochrome mediation of a blue-dependent photoreaction was evident. Pretreatments with both white and blue light allowed increased anthocyanin production under subsequent inductive conditions, as did occurs in treatments with continuous blue, red, far red, or white light. It is suggested that the effect of light pretreatments on phytochrome-controlled anthocyanin formation may differ from that controlled by the combination of cryptochrome and phytochrome.