Divergent regulation of floral pigments by essential and non-essential metals shapes linked biogeographic patterns

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtag266

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtag266

Divergent regulation of floral pigments by essential and non-essential metals shapes linked biogeographic patterns

Xiaona Zheng^#1, Mingzhang Wen^#2, Lingzi Liu¹, Jushan Liu¹, Le Lang³, Wenlong He³, Qingfeng Wang³, Xiang Gao⁴, Haoming Xia⁵, Dan Yang², Yufang Chen¹, Jiayi Song¹, Xinyu Fu¹, Tao Zhang^*1, Ying Gao^*1

1. Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China;
2. State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China;
3. Jilin Province Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, Changchun 130103, China;
4. Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of MOE, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China;
5. College of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographical Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China
^#These authors contributed equally to this work.
^*Corresponding author:
Tao Zhang,E-mail: zhangt946@nenu.edu.cn
Ying Gao,E-mail: gaoy823@nenu.edu.cn

Received:2026-07-20 Revised:2026-09-24 Accepted:2026-10-08 Published:2026-11-06
Supported by:
This work was supported by the Science and Technology Commission Development Project of Jilin Province (No. 20240601073RC), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32171551), Science and Technology Research Project of the Jilin Provincial Department of Education (No. JJKH20250330BS) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2412026ZX003).

Abstract

Abstract: Climatic filtering alone does not fully explain floral color formation and biogeographic patterns, as it overlooks edaphic metal availability as a potential environmental driver. A global meta-analysis encompassing 113 plant species revealed that Fe-carotenoid responses varied with treatment concentration, whereas Cu showed opposing associations with carotenoids and anthocyanins. To examine whether these patterns contributed to intraspecific floral differentiation, we compared four color morphs of Stellera chamaejasme co-occurring in the Hengduan Mountains. Fe, Cu and Ti concentrations differed significantly among morphs, prompting hydroponic metal-addition experiments that further resolved the roles of these metals in pigment biosynthesis. Fe addition increased ζ-carotene desaturase (ZDS) protein content and carotenoid synthesis, whereas Cu addition enhanced anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) protein content and anthocyanin accumulation. In contrast, addition of the non-essential metal Ti suppressed both pigment pathways, likely through competitive interference with Fe- and Cu-dependent enzymes. These results suggest that essential and non-essential metals play contrasting roles in floral pigmentation, with essential metals primarily enhancing pigment biosynthesis and non-essential metals modulating these responses. High Fe supply had no significant effect on chlorophyll content in the yellow morph but significantly reduced it in the other three morphs. This pattern suggests that the yellow morph is uniquely suited to Fe-rich conditions, consistent with its exclusive occurrence in low-latitude, Fe-rich soils in China. Conversely, the white-red morph had the highest chlorophyll-to-soil-Fe ratio, suggesting greater adaptation to low-Fe habitats at higher latitudes and altitudes. This study establishes a mechanistic framework linking metal functional divergence to floral trait variation and intraspecific biogeography.

By combining a global meta-analysis, large-scale field sampling and hydroponic experiments on four floral color morphs of Stellera chamaejasme, we show that essential Fe and Cu promote carotenoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis, respectively, whereas non-essential Ti suppresses both pathways. Morph-specific differences in Fe uptake and translocation further link these pigment responses to floral color differentiation and broad-scale biogeographic patterns.

Key words: floral pigment, essential and non-essential metals, biogeographic pattern, dispersal limitation, soil iron heterogeneity

Xiaona Zheng, Mingzhang Wen, Lingzi Liu, Jushan Liu, Le Lang, Wenlong He, Qingfeng Wang, Xiang Gao, Haoming Xia, Dan Yang, Yufang Chen, Jiayi Song, Xinyu Fu, Tao Zhang, Ying Gao. Divergent regulation of floral pigments by essential and non-essential metals shapes linked biogeographic patterns[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtag266.

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Divergent regulation of floral pigments by essential and non-essential metals shapes linked biogeographic patterns

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