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PLANT SCIENCE / 10 · PIGMENT BIOSYNTHESIS

Anthocyanin Artist

Make the pigment. Shape the color.

ACTIVE TIME 90sCOMMISSIONS 0 / 6MODELED HUE UnpigmentedPIGMENT ABUNDANCE 0 / 100

WELCOME TO THE BOTANICAL STUDIO

A living palette.

Paint six leaves, flowers and fruits by changing their chemistry. Activate the enzyme pathway, choose a pigment family, then tune environmental signals and the vacuole.

Match the requested hue, pigment family and abundance within 90 seconds. Or explore every color at your own pace.

RedPurpleBlue

The hue categories, abundance scale, signal effects and 90-second clock are game abstractions. Blue leaves and fruits here are imaginary pigment-capable cultivars, not predictions for a named plant.

For the curious at heart. A pocket-sized collection of science-inspired games.
Made for a quick break, a little discovery, and one more round.

DESKTOP / TABLET / MOBILE · Your browser is your playground.

How to Play Anthocyanin Artist

  1. Make pigment: activate CHS, DFR, ANS and UFGT. These selected steps stand in for a longer pathway. All four must be on to accumulate a stable pigment pool in this model.
  2. Choose its structure: the low-hydroxylation branch models pelargonidin-based pigments, F3′H models cyanidin-based pigments, and F3′5′H models delphinidin-based pigments. This simplified branch selector assumes compatible upstream and downstream enzymes.
  3. Build abundance: bright light and cooler conditions increase the invented abundance score. The target specifies the minimum. Light and temperature represent regulatory signals, not direct chemical conversion of one pigment into another.
  4. Tune the cell environment: a more acidic vacuole gives the model’s red hue. In a less acidic vacuole, cyanidin or delphinidin gives purple; delphinidin plus co-pigment support gives blue. Pelargonidin remains in the red category. These are selected recipes rather than universal color rules.
  5. Save your painting: match hue, family and minimum abundance. A mismatch costs 4 seconds and gives a hint. Complete all six commissions before the 90-second active timer ends. Untimed studio lets you choose a tissue and save up to nine studies without a deadline.

Controls: mouse or touch buttons; keys 1–4 toggle CHS, DFR, ANS and UFGT, P pauses, H opens this guide. Enter activates the focused button, or saves the study when focus is outside a button. Pause, help and a hidden tab suspend the clock. Resume manually after switching tabs.

The biology behind the palette

CHS is chalcone synthase; DFR is dihydroflavonol 4-reductase; ANS is anthocyanidin synthase; UFGT represents anthocyanidin glycosylation by a UDP-dependent glycosyltransferase. CHI, F3H, precursor supply, transport and additional modifications are omitted. F3′H and F3′5′H alter hydroxylation upstream of DFR/ANS; they do not directly recolor an existing anthocyanin molecule.

Anthocyanins are usually stored in vacuoles. Their structures, concentration, pH, co-pigments, metal ions and modifications interact to determine appearance. Delphinidin does not guarantee blue. More alkaline conditions can also destabilize pigments; this game does not model universal pH thresholds. Leaf chlorophyll can mask anthocyanins, and natural fruit colors may involve surface wax or structural effects.

The live artwork and all abundance values are schematic. The same controls are offered across virtual tissues for exploration; real tissues and species differ in available enzymes and responses.

Read more: Research on blue flowers · Anthocyanin biosynthesis and regulation.