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Published online 5 October 2000 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news001005-10
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Blue as a rose
Horticulturists' dreams of producing blue blooms on demand have come one step closer with a discovery that could also help crop plants thrive in poor quality soils, Christopher Surridge reports.
In the classic litmus test, a strip of paper changes colour from red through green to blue with decreasing acidity -- or increasing pH. The Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) uses a similar pH-driven colour change to achieve its deep purple blooms, researchers now report in Nature1.
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