Understanding the biochemical basis of flower colour in Australian native Ptilotus and Gomphrena

A lesser studied group of pigments, betalains, were extracted from floral tissues of 10 lines of Australian endemic Amaranthaceae species and their biochemical structures elucidated and concentrations quantified using HPLC, spectrophotometry and LCMS analyses. This study showed that the Australian Amaranthaceae possess a unique suite of betalain pigments (viz. complex acylated betacyanins) with exciting implications for plant breeding