scholarly journals Asymmetric water transport in dense leaf cuticles and cuticle-inspired compositionally graded membranes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristotelis Kamtsikakis ◽  
Johanna Baales ◽  
Viktoria V. Zeisler-Diehl ◽  
Dimitri Vanhecke ◽  
Justin O. Zoppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Transport ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Protective Layer ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Nanocomposite Membranes ◽  
Hydrophobic Polymer ◽  
Polyester Matrix ◽  
Transpirational Water Loss ◽  
Epidermal Cell Wall ◽  
Cuticular Layer

AbstractMost of the aerial organs of vascular plants are covered by a protective layer known as the cuticle, the main purpose of which is to limit transpirational water loss. Cuticles consist of an amphiphilic polyester matrix, polar polysaccharides that extend from the underlying epidermal cell wall and become less prominent towards the exterior, and hydrophobic waxes that dominate the surface. Here we report that the polarity gradient caused by this architecture renders the transport of water through astomatous olive and ivy leaf cuticles directional and that the permeation is regulated by the hydration level of the cutin-rich outer cuticular layer. We further report artificial nanocomposite membranes that are inspired by the cuticles’ compositionally graded architecture and consist of hydrophilic cellulose nanocrystals and a hydrophobic polymer. The structure and composition of these cuticle-inspired membranes can easily be varied and this enables a systematic investigation of the water transport mechanism.

scholarly journals Investigating water transport through the xylem network in vascular plants

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1895-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hae Koo Kim ◽  
Joonghyuk Park ◽  
Ildoo Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Water Transport ◽  
Vascular Plants

Lignins, Cutins, and Suberins

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Bianchi ◽  
Elizabeth A. Canuel
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Shikimic Acid ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Aromatic Amino Acids ◽  
Protective Layer ◽  
Aquatic Systems ◽  
Plant Materials ◽  
Acid Pathway ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

This chapter examines lignin, which has proven to be a useful chemical biomarker for tracing vascular-plant inputs to aquatic systems. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin generally make up >75% of the biomass of woody plant materials. Lignins are a group of macromolecular heteropolymers found in the cell wall of vascular plants that are made up of phenylpropanoid units. The shikimic acid pathway, which is common in plants, bacteria, and fungi, is the pathway for synthesis of aromatic amino acids (e.g., tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine), thereby providing the parent compounds for the synthesis of the phenylpropanoid units in lignins. The chapter also examines cutins and suberins, which are lipid polymers in vascular plant tissues and serve as a protective layer (cuticle) and as cell wall components of cork cells, respectively. It describes how cutins have been shown to be an effective biomarker for vascular plants in aquatic systems.

NAVIGATION PATHS AND URBANISM IN THE BASIN OF MEXICO BEFORE THE CONQUEST

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Alexandra Biar
Keyword(s):  
Water Transport ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Postclassic Period ◽  
Sacred Sites ◽  
Transition Zones ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Basin Of Mexico ◽  
Cross Links

Abstract The island nature of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, is an under-studied aspect in our understanding of this unique urban space, located in the Mexican highlands of Mesoamerica. The island location induces cross-links from aquatic and terrestrial paths to create connectivity and continuity within the lacustrine cultural landscape of the Basin of Mexico during the Postclassic period (a.d. 900–1521). Although Cortés described this city as the “Venice of the New World,” no specific and systematic investigation of facilities related to water transport has been carried out. In this article, I fill this gap through a study of navigation routes which were conceived to facilitate the continuous movement of people and goods through the numerous canals crisscrossing the Aztec capital, and which are identifiable by means of anthropic markers that respond to functional needs. Transition zones (piers, quays, shoreline areas), coordination zones (ports), and activity zones (customs facilities, warehouses, bridges, sacred sites) are all related to the practice of water transport and intimately related to terrestrial roads. I identify and locate these areas using a multidisciplinary methodology based on archaeological data, ethnohistorical testimonies, and pictographic and iconographic documents.

scholarly journals On the hydraulic conductance of three woody Devonian plants

IAWA Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Cascales-Miñana ◽  
P. Gerrienne ◽  
B. Sirjacq ◽  
P. Steemans
Keyword(s):  
Water Transport ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Secondary Xylem ◽  
Secondary Growth ◽  
Hydraulic Conductance ◽  
Plant Fossils ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fossil Site

ABSTRACTMost evolutionary innovations in plant vascular tissues, including secondary growth, occurred during the Devonian period (~420 to 360 million years ago). Such innovations had a major impact on land colonisation by plants and on their biodiversity. Here, we show the hydraulic conductance of the secondary xylem of three shrubby or arborescent plant fossils (a probably new genus of Cladoxylopsida, the archaeopteridalean genus Callixylon and the stenokolean genus Brabantophyton). Evidences come from the Ronquières fossil site (Belgium). This site is considered mid-late Givetian/earliest Frasnian in age. Results reveal that hydraulic conductivity of these early woody plants is more or less similar to that of modern gymnosperms, meaning that water transport was already as efficient in Devonian plants as it is in living plants. Our results further suggest that tracheids with features helping for optimised water transport were quickly selected in the evolutionary history of vascular plants.

Functional Status of Xylem Through Time

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 407-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig R. Brodersen ◽  
Adam B. Roddy ◽  
Jay W. Wason ◽  
Andrew J. McElrone
Keyword(s):  
Functional Status ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
In Planta ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Plant Hydraulics ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Plant Water Use ◽  
Terrestrial Water

Water transport in vascular plants represents a critical component of terrestrial water cycles and supplies the water needed for the exchange of CO2 in the atmosphere for photosynthesis. Yet, many fundamental principles of water transport are difficult to assess given the scale and location of plant xylem. Here we review the mechanistic principles that underpin long-distance water transport in vascular plants, with a focus on woody species. We also discuss the recent development of noninvasive tools to study the functional status of xylem networks in planta. Limitations of current methods to detect drought-induced xylem blockages (e.g., embolisms) and quantify corresponding declines in sap flow, and the coordination of hydraulic dysfunction with other physiological processes are assessed. Future avenues of research focused on cross-validation of plant hydraulics methods are discussed, as well as a proposed fundamental shift in the theory and methodology used to characterize and measure plant water use.

How does water flow from vessel to vessel? Further investigation of the tracheid bridge concept

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1019-1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruihua Pan ◽  
Melvin T Tyree
Keyword(s):  
Water Transport ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Functional Importance ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Total Conductance ◽  
Hydraulic Safety ◽  
And Function

Abstract Hydraulic safety and efficiency have become the central concept of the interpretation of the structure and function of vessels and their interconnections. Plants form an appropriate xylem network structure to maintain a balance of hydraulic safety vs efficiency. The term ‘tracheid bridge’ is used to describe a possible pathway of water transport between neighboring vessels via tracheids, and this pathway could also provide increased safety against embolisms. However, the only physiological study of such a structure thus far has been in Hippophae rhamnoides Linn. To test the function of tracheid bridges, this research examined four species that have relatively long and solitary vessels, which are two of the criteria for efficient tracheid bridges. Tracheids contributed less than 2.2% of the total conductance of the vessels in these species, but in theory, tracheids could serve as very efficient transport connector pathways that may or may not make direct vessel-to-vessel contact via pit fields between adjacent vessels. In some species, tracheid bridges may represent the dominant pathway for water flow between vessels, whereas in other species, tracheid bridges may be sub-dominant or virtually nil. Broader searches of woody taxa are needed to reveal the functional importance of tracheid bridges in vascular plants.

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