Anthocyanins in photoprotection: knowing the actors in play to solve this complex ecophysiological issue

Though there is compelling evidence for the suite of molecularevents regulating the flavonoid branch pathway that leads toanthocyanin biosynthesis (Chen et al., 2019; Naing and Kim,2018; Saigo et al., 2020), there is still no consensus about thefunctional significance of anthocyanins in plant-environmentinteractions (Steyn et al., 2002; Manetas, 2006; Hughes, 2011;Landi et al., 2015; Gould et al., 2018; Landi et al., 2021). This isalso the case of colorless flavonoids, hereafter referred to asflavonoids, which accumulate in separate leaf tissues and subcellularorganelles than anthocyanins do (Pollastri & Tattini, 2011; Agatiet al., 2012; Brunetti et al., 2018).