Biochemical analysis of elastic and rigid cuticles of Cirsium horridulum

Abstract

The cuticle is a complex structure of soluble lipids, lipid polymers and polysaccharides. In addition to its functions to reduce water loss and provide a protective barrier, its mechanical properties may be significant to plant growth and development. We investigated the cuticle of Cirsium horridulum Michx. because of its involvement in the thigmonastic contraction of staminal filaments. The staminal filaments and portions of the style are surrounded by a highly elastic cuticle in contrast to the rigid cuticle of the corolla and leaves. Our aim was to determine if the biochemical composition affected the elasticity of the cuticle. We discovered that the ratio of carbohydrates to lipids is 1:7 in floral parts but 2:1 in leaf cuticle. Esterified cutin components represented about 80% of the cuticle and di-hydroxyhexadecanoic acids were the major monomers of cutin, regardless of origin. The cutin of elastic tissues is characterized by a higher content of tri-hydroxy monomers than the cutin of rigid tissues. The data suggest that hydroxyl groups enhance the hydrophilic character of the cuticle and contribute to cuticular elasticity.

Fruit cuticle lipid composition during development in tomato ripening mutants

“…Compared with AC, cutin development on fruits of rin , nor and Alcobaça was exemplified by higher relative proportions of total C 18 monomers and the accumulation of specific C 18 monomers earlier in fruit development. It has been suggested that C 16 /C 18 cutin monomer ratios may influence cuticle mechanical properties, with more rigid tissues having cuticles dominated by C 16 cutin monomers and more elastic (less rigid) tissues having cuticles that consist of a near equal mixture of C 16 and C 18 cutin monomers (Marga et al 2001). In their study, Marga et al (2001) also showed that elastic tissues have a higher trihydroxy fatty acid content.…”

Structure–function relationships of the plant cuticle and cuticular waxes — a smart material?

“…Particularly, cutin matrix composition and molecular architecture as well as composition and content of polysaccharide, waxes or phenolic compounds are of interest. More rigid cuticles could be classified by C 16 cutin monomers, while more elastic cuticles correspond to mixed C 16 / C 18 cutin monomers (Holloway 1982;Marga et al 2001). As an example, the compliant leaf cuticle of Hedera helix L. was classified as C 18 cutin (Holloway and Brown 1981;Graca et al 2002) and displayed a relatively low stiffness and high extensibility (Wiedemann and Neinhuis 1998;Edelmann et al 2005).…”

“…It is nevertheless very likely that the polysaccharide volume fraction is species-specific and hence, the contribution of the cellulosic material to the mechanical properties will vary from species to species. Marga et al (2001) reported that the percentage of hemicellulose monosaccharides in the cutin of the stiff leaf cuticle of a thistle was ∼70%, while it was ∼14% in the more elastic cuticles of the filament. Different polysaccharide contents were proposed to explain even cultivar-specific mechanical properties of tomato fruit cuticle (Matas et al 2004a).…”

“…The basic framework cutin is a biopolyester composed of saturated C 16 ω-hydroxy and unsaturated C 18 hydroxyepoxy fatty acid monomers (Kolattukudy 1980). Cutin has a variable and dynamic composition: the ratio of C 16 : C 18 fatty acids may be organ-as well as species-specific, and changes during ontogeny (Espelie et al 1979;Baker et al 1982;Marga et al 2001). Common structural constituents of suberin, which is abundant in roots and periderm tissue, were recently also identified to be an integral part of cutin.…”

The structural and histochemical analyses and chemical characters of the cuticle and epidermal walls of cotyledon in ungerminated seeds of Zostera marina L.

“…In accordance with the method of Marga et al [23], the compounds were identified by comparing the fragmentation patterns of their electron impact ionization (EI) MS spectra (70 eV, m/z 40-950) with the fragmentation pattern of the NIST 05 database or those reported in the literature [22] after capillary GC. The conditions of the GC were: column, HP-5, 30 m 9 0.32 mm, 0.25 lm (J&W, USA); injection at 270°C; oven 1.2 min at 40°C, 15.1°C/min to 130°C, 3.3°C/min to 290°C, 10 min at 290°C; He carrier gas at 2.56 ml/min.…”