Multifunctional Contribution of the Inflated Fruiting Calyx: Implication for Cuticular Barrier Profiles of the Solanaceous Genera , and .

Pivotal barrier properties of the hydrophobic plant cuticle covering aerial plant surfaces depend on its physicochemical composition. Among plant species and organs, compounds of this boundary layer between the plant interior and the environment vary considerably but cuticle-related studies comparing different organs from the same plant species are still scarce. Thus, this study focused on the cuticle profiles of , and species.

Optogenetic control of plant growth by a microbial rhodopsin.

While rhodopsin-based optogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience, poor expression of opsins and the absence of the essential cofactor all-trans-retinal has complicated the application of rhodopsins in plants. Here, we demonstrate retinal production in plants and improved rhodopsin targeting for green light manipulation of plant cells using the Guillardia theta light-gated anion channelrhodopsin GtACR1. Green light induces a massive increase in anion permeability and pronounced membrane potential changes when GtACR1 is expressed, enabling non-invasive manipulation of plant growth and leaf development.

Compositional, structural and functional cuticle analysis of Prunus laurocerasus L. sheds light on cuticular barrier plasticity.

Barrier properties of the hydrophobic plant cuticle depend on its physicochemical composition. The cuticular compounds vary considerably among plant species but also among organs and tissues of the same plant and throughout developmental stages. As yet, these intraspecific modifications at the cuticular wax and cutin level are only rarely examined.

Leaf cuticle analyses: implications for the existence of cutan/non-ester cutin and its biosynthetic origin.

Background And Aims: The cuticle of a limited number of plant species contains cutan, a chemically highly resistant biopolymer. As yet, the biosynthesis of cutan is not fully understood. Attempting to further unravel the origin of cutan, we analysed the chemical composition of enzymatically isolated cuticular membranes of Agave americana leaves.

Cuticular wax coverage and its transpiration barrier properties in Quercus coccifera L. leaves: does the environment matter?

Plants prevent uncontrolled water loss by synthesizing, depositing and maintaining a hydrophobic layer over their primary aerial organs-the plant cuticle. Quercus coccifera L. can plastically respond to environmental conditions at the cuticular level.

Cuticular wax coverage and its transpiration barrier properties in Quercus coccifera L. leaves: does the environment matter?

Plants prevent uncontrolled water loss by synthesizing, depositing and maintaining a hydrophobic layer over their primary aerial organs-the plant cuticle. Quercus coccifera L. can plastically respond to environmental conditions at the cuticular level.

Effects of temperature on the cuticular transpiration barrier of two desert plants with water-spender and water-saver strategies.

The efficacy of the cuticular transpiration barrier and its resistance to elevated temperatures are significantly higher in a typical water-saver than in a water-spender plant growing in hot desert.

Chemical Composition and Water Permeability of Fruit and Leaf Cuticles of Olea europaea L.

The plant cuticle, protecting against uncontrolled water loss, covers olive (Olea europaea) fruits and leaves. The present study describes the organ-specific chemical composition of the cuticular waxes and the cutin and compares three developmental stages of fruits (green, turning, and black) with the leaf surface. Numerous organ-specific differences, such as the total coverage of cutin monomeric components (1034.

The Nonspecific Lipid Transfer Protein AtLtpI-4 Is Involved in Suberin Formation of Arabidopsis thaliana Crown Galls.

Nonspecific lipid transfer proteins reversibly bind different types of lipid molecules in a hydrophobic cavity. They facilitate phospholipid transfer between membranes in vitro, play a role in cuticle and possibly in suberin formation, and might be involved in plant pathogen defense signaling. This study focuses on the role of the lipid transfer protein AtLTPI-4 in crown gall development.

Effectiveness of cuticular transpiration barriers in a desert plant at controlling water loss at high temperatures.

Maintaining the integrity of the cuticular transpiration barrier even at elevated temperatures is of vital importance especially for hot-desert plants. Currently, the temperature dependence of the leaf cuticular water permeability and its relationship with the chemistry of the cuticles are not known for a single desert plant. This study investigates whether (i) the cuticular permeability of a desert plant is lower than that of species from non-desert habitats, (ii) the temperature-dependent increase of permeability is less pronounced than in those species and (iii) whether the susceptibility of the cuticular permeability barrier to high temperatures is related to the amounts or properties of the cutin or the cuticular waxes.

Deficiency in a very-long-chain fatty acid β-ketoacyl-coenzyme a synthase of tomato impairs microgametogenesis and causes floral organ fusion.

Previously, it was shown that β-ketoacyl-coenzyme A synthase ECERIFERUM6 (CER6) is necessary for the biosynthesis of very-long-chain fatty acids with chain lengths beyond C₂₈ in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits and C₂₆ in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves and the pollen coat. CER6 loss of function in Arabidopsis resulted in conditional male sterility, since pollen coat lipids are responsible for contact-mediated pollen hydration. In tomato, on the contrary, pollen hydration does not rely on pollen coat lipids.

Abscisic acid mediates the formation of a suberized stem scar tissue in tomato fruits.

During harvest, fleshy berry tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum) were wounded at their stem scar. Within 3 d, this wound was rapidly sealed by a process covering the wound site with a membranous layer which effectively protects the tomato fruit from excessive water loss, nutrient elution and the entry of pathogens. Chemical analysis of the de novo synthesized stem scar tissue revealed the presence of aromatic and aliphatic components characteristic of the biopolyester suberin.

The positional sterile (ps) mutation affects cuticular transpiration and wax biosynthesis of tomato fruits.

Cuticular waxes are known to play a pivotal role in limiting transpirational water loss across primary plant surfaces. The astomatous tomato fruit is an ideal model system that permits the functional characterization of intact cuticular membranes and therefore allows direct correlation of their permeance for water with their qualitative and quantitative composition. The recessive positional sterile (ps) mutation, which occurred spontaneously in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.

Light promotes an increase of cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase activity during senescence of barley leaf segments.

Following a study of the relationship between cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX) and senescence in darkened barley leaf segments, we have now investigated the influence of light on the in vitro activity of CKX. Seedlings of Hordeum vulgare L. were grown for 8d under a light/dark regime of 18h white light and 6h darkness.

The developmental pattern of tomato fruit wax accumulation and its impact on cuticular transpiration barrier properties: effects of a deficiency in a beta-ketoacyl-coenzyme A synthase (LeCER6).

Cuticular waxes play a pivotal role in limiting transpirational water loss across the primary plant surface. The astomatous fruits of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) 'MicroTom' and its lecer6 mutant, defective in a beta-ketoacyl-coenzyme A synthase, which is involved in very-long-chain fatty acid elongation, were analyzed with respect to cuticular wax load and composition. The developmental course of fruit ripening was followed.

Tomato fruit cuticular waxes and their effects on transpiration barrier properties: functional characterization of a mutant deficient in a very-long-chain fatty acid beta-ketoacyl-CoA synthase.

Cuticular waxes play a pivotal role in limiting transpirational water loss across the plant surface. The correlation between the chemical composition of the cuticular waxes and their function as a transpiration barrier is still unclear. In the present study, intact tomato fruits (Lycopersicon esculentum) are used, due to their astomatous surface, as a novel integrative approach to investigate this composition- function relationship: wax amounts and compositions of tomato were manipulated before measuring unbiased cuticular transpiration.