Variation In Anthocyanin Production Among Accessions and Cultivars Of Rough Bluegrass (Poa trivialis L).

In the food coloring and pigment industry, there is a need for natural pigments and anthocyanins are highly sought after.  These pigments range in color from red to blue depending on pH, and are in demand by consumers for not only their color but also for their health promoting properties.  A majority of the plants used for commercial anthocyanin production can only be harvested once or possibly twice per year, are costly, and do not express coloration across the entire plant.  On the other hand, turfgrasses provide an alternative for anthocyanin production in that they are cheap, tissue can be harvested multiple times per month, and most tissue expresses coloration. One turfgrass species of interest, rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis L.), is known to exhibit high concentrations of anthocyanins in leaf, sheath, and stem tissue.  Being an obligate out-crossing species, this species is very diverse.  Therefore, the goal of this project was to evaluate diversity in anthocyanin production among accessions and cultivars of rough bluegrass.  19 accessions and 5 historical cultivars were obtained from the Western Regional Plant Introduction Station (Pullman, WA), and 1 production cultivar was also used for comparison ('Havana').  Plants were exposed to 7 days of continuous blue LED light within a growth chamber set to 15°C in order to elicit maximum anthocyanin production.  Plant tissues were analyzed for total monomeric anthocyanin content before and after light induction to determine percent increase in anthocyanins.  Results show that not all accessions and cultivars of rough bluegrass are equal in their ability to induce high quantities of anthocyanins.  Varieties having a fine leaf texture along with a higher degree of stolon production exhibit a greater tendency to produce higher concentrations of anthocyanins.  Currently investigations are underway to determine if morphology and physiology are equally involved, or if one has greater influence on anthocyanin production among these accessions and cultivars.