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Cuticular Waxes of Arabidopsis thaliana Shoots: Cell-Type-Specific Composition and Biosynthesis Hegebarth, Daniela; Jetter, Reinhard, 1962-

Abstract

It is generally assumed that all plant epidermis cells are covered with cuticles, and the distinct surface geometries of pavement cells, guard cells, and trichomes imply functional differences and possibly different wax compositions. However, experiments probing cell-type-specific wax compositions and biosynthesis have been lacking until recently. This review summarizes new evidence showing that Arabidopsis trichomes have fewer wax compound classes than pavement cells, and higher amounts of especially long-chain hydrocarbons. The biosynthesis machinery generating this characteristic surface coating is discussed. Interestingly, wax compounds with similar, long hydrocarbon chains had been identified previously in some unrelated species, not all of them bearing trichomes.

Item Metadata

Title
Cuticular Waxes of Arabidopsis thaliana Shoots: Cell-Type-Specific Composition and Biosynthesis
Creator
Hegebarth, Daniela; Jetter, Reinhard, 1962-
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2017-07-07
Description
It is generally assumed that all plant epidermis cells are covered with cuticles, and the distinct surface geometries of pavement cells, guard cells, and trichomes imply functional differences and possibly different wax compositions. However, experiments probing cell-type-specific wax compositions and biosynthesis have been lacking until recently. This review summarizes new evidence showing that Arabidopsis trichomes have fewer wax compound classes than pavement cells, and higher amounts of especially long-chain hydrocarbons. The biosynthesis machinery generating this characteristic surface coating is discussed. Interestingly, wax compounds with similar, long hydrocarbon chains had been identified previously in some unrelated species, not all of them bearing trichomes.
Subject
Trichomes; Cuticular wax; Chain length; Arabidopsis thaliana; KCS; Elongation; Fatty acid elongase complex; Ketoacyl-CoA synthase
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2019-06-26
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0379620
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/70802
Affiliation
Science, Faculty of; Botany, Department of; Chemistry, Department of
Citation
Plants 6 (3): 27 (2017)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/plants6030027
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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CC BY 4.0