Publications by authors named "Blue J Plunkett"

The potential of cannabinoids to address public health challenges has stimulated exploration into alternative sources and production technologies. Radula marginata, an endemic Aotearoa/New Zealand liverwort, produces the bibenzyl cannabinoid perrottetinene (PET), analogous to Cannabis psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Structural differences between PET and THC could alter therapeutic interactions and mitigate adverse side effects.

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Fruit quality is dependent on various factors including flavour, texture and colour. These factors are determined by the ripening process, either climacteric or non-climacteric. In grape berry, which is non-climacteric, the process is signalled by a complex set of hormone changes.

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Anthocyanins are a major group of red to blue spectrum plant pigments with many consumer health benefits. Anthocyanins are derived from the flavonoid pathway and diversified by glycosylation and methylation, involving the concerted action of specific enzymes. Blueberry and bilberry ( spp.

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Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) belongs to the Vaccinium genus, which includes blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and cranberry (V.

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Waxy apple cuticles predominantly accumulate ursane-type triterpenes, but the profile shifts with the induction of skin russeting towards lupane-type triterpenes. We previously characterised several key enzymes in the ursane-type and lupane-type triterpene pathways, but this switch in triterpene metabolism associated with loss of cuticle integrity is not fully understood. To analyse the relationship between triterpene biosynthesis and russeting, we used microscopy, RNA-sequencing and metabolite profiling during apple fruit development.

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Blueberries are distinguished by their purple-blue fruit color, which develops during ripening and is derived from a characteristic composition of flavonoid-derived anthocyanin pigments. The production of anthocyanins is confined to fruit skin, leaving the colorless fruit flesh devoid of these compounds. By linking accumulation patterns of phenolic metabolites with gene transcription in Northern Highbush () and Rabbiteye ( blueberry, we investigated factors limiting anthocyanin production in berry flesh.

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Environmentally-responsive genes can affect fruit red colour via the activation of MYB transcription factors. The apple B-box (BBX) gene, BBX33/CONSTANS-like 11 (COL11) has been reported to influence apple red-skin colour in a light- and temperature-dependent manner. To further understand the role of apple BBX genes, other members of the BBX family were examined for effects on colour regulation.

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The genus in the family comprises many species, including the fruit-bearing blueberry, bilberry, cranberry, huckleberry, and lingonberry. Commercially, the most important are the blueberries ( section ), such as (northern highbush blueberry), (rabbiteye blueberry), and (lowbush blueberry). The rising popularity of blueberries can partly be attributed to their "superfood" status, with an increasing body of evidence around human health benefits resulting from the fruit metabolites, particularly products of the phenylpropanoid pathway such as anthocyanins.

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