Broad Chain-Length Specificity of the Alkane-Forming Enzymes NoCER1A and NoCER3A/B in Nymphaea odorata.

Many terrestrial plants produce large quantities of alkanes for use in epicuticular wax and the pollen coat. However, their carbon chains must be long to be useful as fuel or as a petrochemical feedstock. Here, we focus on Nymphaea odorata, which produces relatively short alkanes in its anthers.

Development and disintegration of tapetum-specific lipid-accumulating organelles, elaioplasts and tapetosomes, in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus.

The pollen coat covering the surface of pollen grains has many important roles for pollination. In Brassicaceae plants, the pollen coat components are synthesized and temporarily accumulated in two tapetum-specific organelles, the elaioplast and the tapetosome. Although many biochemical and electron microscopic analyses have been attempted, the structure and biogenesis of these organelles have not been fully elucidated.