Coordinated changes in anthocyanins and cuticular wax during leaf color transition in Rosa chinensis
Yanan Zhang, Shuya Guo, Xiaoru Li, Dan Wang, Jingyuan Li, Liang Zhang, Peipei Zhang · 2026
Read Coordinated changes in anthocyanins and cuticular wax during leaf color transition in Rosa chinensis by Yanan Zhang, Shuya Guo, Xiaoru Li, Dan Wang, Jingyuan Li, Liang Zhang, Peipei Zhang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13341760.txt.
Description
Yanan Zhang and six co-authors published a 2026 plant study on why young leaves of the Chinese rose start red and turn green. The red comes from pigments called anthocyanins, which help young leaves resist stress. Many woody plants show this striking pattern, but the switch in defense as leaves mature was unclear.
The team tracked pigments and surface wax across leaf development. In the young red stage, pigments filled both surfaces of the leaf and no wax was present. As leaves grew, pigment levels fell, first on the upper surface, and the leaves turned green. Wax began to build at just that stage. By full maturity, the wax layer had taken over the protective role. The study shows a handover between two defense systems.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yanan Zhang, Shuya Guo, Xiaoru Li, Dan Wang, Jingyuan Li, Liang Zhang, Peipei Zhang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 37 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |