In the wild, only the plants with the most attractive flower colors are able to reproduce and thrive because the insects that pollinate them prefer certain colors. The bees that pollinate snapdragon find magenta and yellow flowers the most attractive; they do not find colors such as orange attractive and so flowers of this color would not flourish in the wild due to lack of pollination. Scientists already know that natural color variation is controlled by three genes: ROSEA and ELUTA affect the intensity and pattern of the magenta pigment anthocyanin and thirdly SULFUREA affects the distribution of the yellow aurone pigment. The researchers in this study wanted to understand how plants producing magenta or yellow flowers could evolve from a common ancestor without producing in-between non-attractive flower colors such as orange.

“This is a totally different way of looking at evolution and could lead to a better understanding of the rules that govern biodiversity” explains Enrico Coen of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, “If we can comprehend how Antirrhinum genes interact in their natural habitat, it may help us in the future to better preserve genetic diversity”.

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