title: Anthocyanin Profile in Berries of Wild and Cultivated Vaccinium spp. along Altitudinal Gradients in the Alps.
abstract: Vaccinium spp. berries provide some of the best natural sources of anthocyanins. In the wild bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), a clear increasing trend in anthocyanin biosynthesis has been reported toward northern latitudes of Europe, but studies related to altitude have given contradictory results. The present study focused on the anthocyanin composition in wild bilberries and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. cv. Brigitta Blue) growing along altitudinal gradients in the Alps of northern Italy. Our results indicate an increasing accumulation of anthocyanins in bilberries along an altitudinal gradient of about 650 m. The accumulation was due to a significant increase in delphinidin and malvidin glycosides, whereas the accumulation of cyanidin and peonidin glycosides was not affected by altitude. Seasonal differences, especially temperature, had a major influence on the accumulation of anthocyanins in blueberries.
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Physiology Department, University of Oulu , P.O. Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland.|Genomics and Biology of Fruit Crop Department, Research and Innovation Center, Fondazione Edmund Mach , 38010 S. Michele all'Adige, Trentino, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zoratti
authors.affiliation: Climate Laboratory, Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Arctic University of Norway , NO-9037 Tromsø, Norway.|Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, NIBIO Holt , Box 2284, N-9269 Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jaakola
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Physiology Department, University of Oulu , P.O. Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Hely
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Häggman
authors.affiliation: Genomics and Biology of Fruit Crop Department, Research and Innovation Center, Fondazione Edmund Mach , 38010 S. Michele all'Adige, Trentino, Italy.
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giongo
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000737:chemistry*; D029798:Blueberry Plants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D007558:Italy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D012621:Seasons; D029800:Vaccinium myrtillus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Vaccinium; alpine environment; altitudinal gradient; anthocyanins; bilberry; blueberry; light; temperature