scholarly journals The molecular structure of plant sporopollenin

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fu-Shuang Li ◽  
Pyae Phyo ◽  
Joseph Jacobowitz ◽  
Mei Hong ◽  
Jing-Ke Weng

Sporopollenin is a ubiquitous and extremely chemically inert biopolymer that constitutes the outer wall of all land-plant spores and pollen grains. Sporopollenin protects the vulnerable plant gametes against a wide range of environmental assaults, and is considered as a prerequisite for the migration of early plants onto land. Despite its importance, the chemical structure of plant sporopollenin has remained elusive. Using a newly developed thioacidolysis degradative method together with state-of-the-art solid-state NMR techniques, we determined the detailed molecular structure of pine sporopollenin. We show that pine sporopollenin is primarily composed of aliphatic-polyketide-derived polyvinyl alcohol units and 7-O-p-coumaroylated C16 aliphatic units, crosslinked through a distinctive m-dioxane moiety featuring an acetal. Naringenin was also identified as a minor component of pine sporopollenin. This discovery answers the long-standing question about the chemical makeup of plant sporopollenin, laying the foundation for future investigations of sporopollenin biosynthesis and for design of new biomimetic polymers with desirable inert properties.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abanoub Mikhael ◽  
Kristina Jurcic ◽  
Celine Schneider ◽  
David carr ◽  
Gregory L. Fisher ◽  
...  

<p></p><p>Sporopollenin is a natural, highly cross-linked biopolymer composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which forms the outer wall of pollen grains. Sporopollenin is resilient to chemical degradation.<sup> </sup>Because of this stability, its exact chemical structure and the biochemical pathways involved in its biosynthesis remains a mystery and unresolved.<sup> </sup></p> <p>We have identified and characterized the molecular structure of the clean, intact sporopollenin using soft ionization mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. These analyses showed that sporopollenin contained a poly(hydroxyacid) dendrimer-like network, which accounted for the sporopollenin empirical formula. In addition, the identified hydroxy acid monomers contained a beta diketone moiety, which most probably accounts for the known antioxidant activity of sporopollenin. Moreover, our elucidation studies allowed us to identify a unique circular polyhydroxylated tetraketide polymer. This polymer acted as the rigid backbone on which the poly(hydroxyacid) network can be built, forming the scaffold of the spherical sporopollenin exine.</p><br><p></p>


1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Blackwell ◽  
M.C. Feller ◽  
R. Trowbridge

The ecological effects of different treatments used to convert dense Pinuscontorta var. latifolia Engelm. stands into young P. contorta plantations are determined. The treatments used were felling the trees with a bulldozer and either broadcast burning the slash or bulldozing the slash into windrows, which were then burned. Burns were conducted under different fuel moisture conditions and state of fuel curing to achieve four classes of fire severity. The preburn surface fuel load was relatively high due largely to fallen dead woody materials (10−21 kg/m2). The biomass of the forest floor (5−10 kg/m2) was similar to that of the tree slash (5−13 kg/m2), while the understory vegetation was a minor component (0.3−0.5 kg/m2). The quantity of slash and understory vegetation consumed by burning increased with the preburn mass of the same components. Forest floor consumption depended primarily on the preburn forest floor mass for windrow burns and on forest floor moisture content as well as preburn forest floor mass for broadcast burns. Fire severity generally did not have a strong influence on biomass consumption, although it did significantly influence forest floor consumption. There was a general trend, however, of increasing biomass consumption in broadcast burns with increasing fire severity. Windrow burning consumed more biomass than did broadcast burning under similar weather and fuel moisture conditions. Windrow burning resulted in uniformly high biomass consumption that was relatively independent of fuel moisture over the wide range of fuel moistures studied.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Glinkerman ◽  
Shaoting Lin ◽  
Jiahua Ni ◽  
Fu-Shuang Li ◽  
Xuanhe Zhao ◽  
...  

Sporopollenin is a mechanically robust and chemically inert biopolymer that constitutes the outer protective exine layer of plant spores and pollen grains. Recent investigation of the molecular structure of pine sporopollenin revealed unique monomeric units and inter-unit linkages distinct from other previously known biopolymers, which could be harnessed for new material design. Here, we report the bioinspired synthesis of a series of sporopollenin analogues. This exercise confirms large portions of the previously proposed pine sporopollenin structural model, while the measured chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the synthetic sporopollenins indicate favorable attributes of a new kind of robust material. This study explores a new design framework of robust materials inspired by natural sporopollenins, and provides insights and reagents for future elucidation and engineering of sporopollenin biosynthesis in plants.


Author(s):  
Abanoub Mikhael ◽  
Kristina Jurcic ◽  
Celine Schneider ◽  
David carr ◽  
Gregory L. Fisher ◽  
...  

<p></p><p>Sporopollenin is a natural, highly cross-linked biopolymer composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which forms the outer wall of pollen grains. Sporopollenin is resilient to chemical degradation.<sup> </sup>Because of this stability, its exact chemical structure and the biochemical pathways involved in its biosynthesis remains a mystery and unresolved.<sup> </sup></p> <p>We have identified and characterized the molecular structure of the clean, intact sporopollenin using soft ionization mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. These analyses showed that sporopollenin contained a poly(hydroxyacid) dendrimer-like network, which accounted for the sporopollenin empirical formula. In addition, the identified hydroxy acid monomers contained a beta diketone moiety, which most probably accounts for the known antioxidant activity of sporopollenin. Moreover, our elucidation studies allowed us to identify a unique circular polyhydroxylated tetraketide polymer. This polymer acted as the rigid backbone on which the poly(hydroxyacid) network can be built, forming the scaffold of the spherical sporopollenin exine.</p><br><p></p>


1975 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Sircar ◽  
T. G. Lamond

Abstract Butyl and halogenated butyls are clearly indicated by both DSC and DTG in nitrogen. Binary NR/CIIR blends are also easily characterized by combined DSC and DTG techniques. In ternary SBR/CIIR/NR blends, only CIIR and NR show up in DTG curves when SBR occurs as a minor component. Minor indication of SBR is obtained from DSC curves. Thermal methods fail to distinguish between BUR and CIIR. In elastomer blends, DTG peak temperatures may vary over a wide range depending on the type of the second elastomer. The NR peak temperature (365°C), for example, is lowered by blending with SBR, BR (345–350°C) or CR (325–348°C). These latter elastomers degrade by exothermic reaction. An increase in peak temperature was observed in association with the polymers which degrade by endothermic reaction (EPDM, 369–374°C; CIIR, 373–377°C). This may be caused by abstraction of heat by the second elastomer in the overall decomposition process. Another important conclusion drawn from the blends studies in this series is that thermal stability of the polymers is not materially affected by the presence of another polymer, thus giving rise to the weight-loss peaks at well-defined temperatures, characteristic of each polymer. Thermooxidative stability, however, is very much dependent on the type and composition of the polymers present. The effect of secondary reactions on the degradation curves is also considerably greater in the oxidizing atmosphere. Thermooxidative degradation is very much dependent on sample size, characteristic of a diffusion-controlled reaction. However, it provides auxiliary evidence for idsntification. Except for SBR/BR blends, which show a single Tg changing with composition, all other elastomer blends show transitions at the respective temperatures, indicating the inherent incompatibility of elastomers. However, a second or third transition is not observed when (a) the proportion of the polymer is too small and (b) Tg'a are too close to each other. Thus, obtaining a single glass transition temperature in a polymer blend is not always a proof of its compatibility, as has been claimed so often.


2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 1195-1203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyan Yang ◽  
Eugene V. Makeyev ◽  
Sarah J. Butcher ◽  
Aušra Gaidelytė ◽  
Dennis H. Bamford

ABSTRACT In most double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses, RNA transcription occurs inside a polymerase (Pol) complex particle, which contains an RNA-dependent RNA Pol subunit as a minor component. Only plus- but not minus-sense copies of genomic segments are produced during this reaction. In the case of φ6, a dsRNA bacteriophage from the Cystoviridae family, isolated Pol synthesizes predominantly plus strands using virus-specific dsRNAs in vitro, thus suggesting that Pol template preferences determine the transcriptional polarity. Here, we dissect transcription reactions catalyzed by Pol complexes and Pol subunits of two other cystoviruses, φ8 and φ13. While both Pol complexes synthesize exclusively plus strands over a wide range of conditions, isolated Pol subunits can be stimulated by Mn2+ to produce minus-sense copies on φ13 dsRNA templates. Importantly, all three Pol subunits become more prone to the native-like plus-strand synthesis when the dsRNA templates (including φ13 dsRNA) are activated by denaturation before the reaction. Based on these and earlier observations, we propose a model of transcriptional polarity in Cystoviridae controlled on two independent levels: Pol affinity to plus-strand initiation sites and accessibility of these sites to the Pol in a single-stranded form.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abanoub Mikhael ◽  
Kristina Jurcic ◽  
Celine Schneider ◽  
David carr ◽  
Gregory L. Fisher ◽  
...  

<p>Sporopollenin is a natural highly cross-linked biopolymer composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen which forms the outer wall of pollen grains. Sporopollenin is resilient to chemical degradation. Because of this stability, its exact chemical structure and the biochemical pathways involved in its biosynthesis remains a mystery and unresolved.<sup> </sup>It is obvious that a well-conceived coherent study of the sporopollenin structure details will help immensely scientists in better understanding the chemistry of their current applications of sporopollenin exines such as drug delivery, peptide synthesis, micro-reactors, and wastewater purification. As well, it may also lead to the discovery of newer biomedical applications in the next coming years. We have identified and characterized the molecular structure of the clean, intact sporopollenin using mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. These analyses showed that sporopollenin is composed of a circular polyhydroxylated tetraketide polymer rigid backbone and a poly(hydroxyacid) branched network. The poly(hydroxyacid) network chains are attached by covalantly ether bonds to the polyhydroxylated tetraketides rigid backbone, forming the scaffold of the spherical sporopollenin.</p>


Growth regulators, phytohormones, both natural and artificial, are the main means to control plant ontogenesis. They are involved in regulating the processes of cell differentiation and cell divisions, the formation of tissues and organs, the changes in the rate of growth and development, the duration of the certain stages of ontogenesis. The main classes of phytohormones used in plant biotechnology, in particular, in the induction of haploid structures, are auxins and cytokinins. The mechanism of action of phytohormones on a cell is rather complicated and may have a different character. Understanding the characteristics of the action of phytohormones is complicated by the fact that the system of hormonal regulation of plant life is multicomponent. This is manifested in the fact that the same physiological process is most often influenced not by one, but by several phytohormones, covering a wide range of aspects of cell metabolism. In connection with the foregoing, the purpose of our work was to test a set of nutrient media with different basic composition and different proportions of phytohormones to determine the patterns of their influence on the processes of haploid structure induction in rape anther culture using accessions, developed at the Institute of Oilseed Crops NAAS. The material used was two accessions of winter rapeseed (No. 1 and No. 2) and one sample of spring rapeseed, provided by the Rapeseed Breeding laboratory of the Institute of Oilseed Crops. Incised inflorescences were kept against the background of low temperature of 6–8 ° C for several days, and then, under aseptic conditions, anthers with unripe pollen grains were isolated and planted on nutrient media differing in both basic mineral composition and content of phytohormones. MS (Murashige & Skoog 1962) and B5 (Gamborg et al 1968) media were used as basic media. Phytohormones were added to the basic media in various combinations – BA, 2,4-D, NAA at the concentrations of 0.1-0.6 mg/l. In each treatment up to 300 anthers were cultivated. Differences between treatments were evaluated using standard t-test. Studies have shown that in the anther culture of rapeseed on the tested nutrient media, morphogenic structures of different types (embryoids and callus) were originated. Synthetic auxin 2,4-D, regardless of the composition of the basic medium, caused the formation of structures of both types, though with a low frequency. Phytohormone BA of the cytokinin type had a similar effect. In this case, the frequency of structures was slightly higher, and the developed structures were represented mainly by embryoids. The joint action of cytokinin and auxin was the most favorable for the initiation of morphogenic structures. Such combination of phytohormones caused the formation of these structures with a frequency of 24.5-14.7% in the studied genotypes of winter rape. A similar effect of phytohormones on the induction and development of morphogenic structures was also observed in spring rape. In this case, a single basic MS medium was used. The experiment included treatments where phytohormones were absent (control), as well as various combinations of auxin and cytokinin. In the control treatment, the formation of new structures was not noted. In treatments with phytohormones, in addition to the medium with the combination of auxin and cytokinin, the medium in which only cytokinin was present was also rather effective. The treatment in which the action of auxin 2,4-D was combined with the action of another auxin, NAA, turned out to be practically ineffective. Thus, it was found that for the induction of morphogenic structures from microspores in rape anther culture of the tested genotypes, the combination of cytokinin with auxin, or the use of only single cytokinin BA without other phytohormones, had the most positive effect.


2009 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 1543-1557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman P. Van Leeuwen ◽  
Raewyn M. Town

The degree of (de)protonation of aqueous metal species has significant consequences for the kinetics of complex formation/dissociation. All protonated forms of both the ligand and the hydrated central metal ion contribute to the rate of complex formation to an extent weighted by the pertaining outer-sphere stabilities. Likewise, the lifetime of the uncomplexed metal is determined by all the various protonated ligand species. Therefore, the interfacial reaction layer thickness, μ, and the ensuing kinetic flux, Jkin, are more involved than in the conventional case. All inner-sphere complexes contribute to the overall rate of dissociation, as weighted by their respective rate constants for dissociation, kd. The presence of inner-sphere deprotonated H2O, or of outer-sphere protonated ligand, generally has a great impact on kd of the inner-sphere complex. Consequently, the overall flux can be dominated by a species that is a minor component of the bulk speciation. The concepts are shown to provide a good description of experimental stripping chronopotentiometric data for several protonated metal–ligand systems.


1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. YEUNG ◽  
E. N. LARTER

A study of the pollen production properties of three hexaploid triticale strains (Triticale hexaploide Lart.) showed that their anther length was significantly greater than that of wheat anthers (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell.) and the estimated number of pollen grains per anther ranged from 15,000 to 21,000. In comparison, a total of 8000 grains per anther was estimated for wheat, cult Manitou. Eighty-nine percent anther extrusion occurred in triticale cult Rosner, while Manitou averaged 70% anther extrusion. The period of anthesis of triticale varied according to strain but generally was of longer duration than in Manitou and thereby promoted outcrossing. Using a triticale strain carrying a dominant marker gene, 50% seed-set was obtained at a distance of 12 m leeward of the pollen source; however, a small percentage was still obtained at a distance of 30 m. It would appear from the limited number of triticales used in this study that a wide range of variability exists within this species in its pollen production and disseminating properties. With appropriate selection pressures, strains with an outbreeding habit could be developed for the purpose of hybrid seed production.


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