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  Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit

Vignolini, S., Rudall, P. J., Rowland, A. V., Reed, A., Moyroud, E., Faden, R. B., et al. (2012). Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(39), 15712-15715. doi:10.1073/pnas.1210105109.

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 Creators:
Vignolini, Silvia1, Author                 
Rudall, P. J., Author
Rowland, A. V., Author
Reed, A., Author
Moyroud, E., Author
Faden, R. B., Author
Baumberg, J. J., Author
Glover, B. J., Author
Steiner, U., Author
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1External Organizations, ou_persistent22              

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Free keywords: Fruit dispersal Helicoidal self-assembly Mimicry biomaterial cellulose article cell wall color epicarp epidermis cell fiber fruit nonhuman plant polarization Pollia condensata Pollia fruit priority journal Commelinaceae Pigmentation Animalia
 Abstract: Biological communication by means of structural color has existed for at least 500 million years. Structural color is commonly observed in the animal kingdom, but has been little studied in plants. We present a striking example of multilayer-based strong iridescent coloration in plants, in the fruit of Pollia condensata. The color is caused by Bragg reflection of helicoidally stacked cellulose microfibrils that form multilayers in the cell walls of the epicarp. We demonstrate that animals and plants have convergently evolved multilayer-based photonic structures to generate colors using entirely distinct materials. The bright blue coloration of this fruit is more intense than that of any previously described biological material. Uniquely in nature, the reflected color differs from cell to cell, as the layer thicknesses in the multilayer stack vary, giving the fruit a striking pixelated or pointillist appearance. Because the multilayers form with both helicoidicities, optical characterization reveals that the reflected light from every epidermal cell is polarized circularly either to the left or to the right, a feature that has never previously been observed in a single tissue.

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Language(s): eng - English
 Dates: 2012
 Publication Status: Issued
 Pages: -
 Publishing info: -
 Table of Contents: -
 Rev. Type: -
 Identifiers: DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1210105109
 Degree: -

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Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
  Other : PNAS
  Other : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA
  Abbreviation : Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.
Source Genre: Journal
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Publ. Info: Washington, D.C. : National Academy of Sciences
Pages: - Volume / Issue: 109 (39) Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 15712 - 15715 Identifier: ISSN: 0027-8424