Seasonal changes in the pigment content of rare natural cedar （<i>Cryptomeria japonica</i> ）“Aoyajiro” needles in Akita Prefecture

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  • 希少な天然秋田スギ“アオヤジロ”における葉部色素含量の季節変化
  • キショウ ナ テンネン アキタ スギ"アオヤジロ"ニ オケル ヨウブ シキソ ガンリョウ ノ キセツ ヘンカ

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Abstract

“Aoyajiro” is a mutant of the natural Japanese cedar （Cryptomeria japonica D. Don） and has yellow needles. To better understand the changes in the needle color of Aoyajiro trees, we investigated the seasonal changes in the content of their pigments of the current and previous needles, and compared this data with that of normal cedar （control） and Wogon-Sugi tree, from June 2013 to April 2014. The analysis of our observations indicated that the total chlorophyll content in the current needles of Aoyajiro and Wogon-Sugi were less than the chlorophyll content in needles of normal cedar between June and July 2013. The total chlorophyll content in Wogon-Sugi needles was observed to have increased rapidly from August 2013, whereas that in Aoyajiro remained half of that observed in normal cedar until January 2014. In the current needles of all sample trees, it was observed that the carotenoid content of cedar leaves tended to change in proportion with the change in total chlorophyll content; however, no notable change was observed in the pigment content in the previous needles of all sample trees. These observations suggested that the phenomenon of Aoyajiro and Wogon-Sugi needles turning yellow is caused by the decrease in chlorophyll content and the expression of residual carotenoids accompanying it, which is also observed when coniferous needles turn yellow. Additionally, it is possible to easily distinguish Aoyajiro and Wogon-Sugi trees by observing changes in the color of needles around September.

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