One of the defining features of plants is a body plan based on the physical properties of cell walls. Structural analyses of the polysaccharide components, combined with high-resolution imaging, have provided the basis for much of the current understanding of cell walls. The application of genetic methods has begun to provide new insights into how walls are made, how they are controlled, and how they function. However, progress in integrating biophysical, developmental, and genetic information into a useful model will require a system-based approach.

Epicuticular wax forms a layer of hydrophobic material on plant aerial organs, which constitutes a protective barrier between the plant and its environment. We report here the identification of WIN1, an Arabidopsis thaliana ethylene response factor-type transcription factor, which can activate wax deposition in overexpressing plants. We constitutively expressed WIN1 in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, and found that leaf epidermal wax accumulation was up to 4.5-fold higher in these plants than in control plants. A significant increase was also found in stems. Interestingly, Ϸ50% of the additional wax could only be released by complete lipid extractions, suggesting that not all of the wax is superficial. Gene expression analysis indicated that a number of genes, such as CER1, KCS1, and CER2, which are known to be involved in wax biosynthesis, were induced in WIN1 overexpressors. This observation indicates that induction of wax accumulation in transgenic plants is probably mediated through an increase in the expression of genes encoding enzymes of the wax biosynthesis pathway.