Flavonoids: a colorful model for the regulation and evolution of biochemical pathways

Abstract

For more than a century, the biosynthesis of flavonoid pigments has been a favorite of scientists to study a wide variety of biological processes, such as inheritance and transposition, and has become one of the best-studied pathways in nature. The analysis of pigmentation continues to provide insights into new areas, such as the channeling and intracellular transport of metabolites, regulation of gene expression and RNA interference. Moreover, because pigmentation is studied in a variety of species, it provides unique molecular insights into the evolution of biochemical pathways and regulatory networks.