scholarly journals Direct Evidence for a Radial Gradient in Age of the Apple Fruit Cuticle

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiru Si ◽  
Bishnu P. Khanal ◽  
Oliver K. Schlüter ◽  
Moritz Knoche

The pattern of cuticle deposition plays an important role in managing strain buildup in fruit cuticles. Cuticular strain is the primary trigger for numerous fruit-surface disorders in many fruit crop species. Recent evidence indicates a strain gradient may exist within the apple fruit cuticle. The outer layers of the cuticle are more strained and thus more susceptible to microcracking than the inner layers. A radial gradient in cuticle age is the most likely explanation. Our study aimed to establish whether (or not) deposition of new cutin in a developing apple fruit occurs on the inner surface of the cuticle, i.e., immediately abutting the outward-facing epidermal cell wall. Developing apples were fed with 13C oleic acid through the skin. Following a 14-d period for incorporation, the fruit was harvested and the cuticular membranes (CMs) isolated enzymatically. The CMs were then ablated to varying extents from the inner or the outer surfaces, using a cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP). Afterwards, the ablated CMs were dewaxed and the 13C contents were determined by mass spectrometry. The incorporation of 13C in the cutin fraction was higher than in the wax fraction. The 13C content was highest in non-ablated, dewaxed CM (DCM) and decreased as ablation depth from the inner surface increased. There was no change in 13C content when ablation was carried out from the outer surface. As fruit development proceeded, more 13C label was found towards the middle of the DCM. These results offered direct evidence for deposition of cutin being on the inner surface of the cuticle, resulting in a radial gradient in cuticular age—the most recent deposition (youngest) being on the inner cuticle surface (abutting the epidermal cell wall) and the earliest deposition (oldest) being on the outer surface (abutting the atmosphere).

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eri Nakamura ◽  
Noriaki Ozaki ◽  
Yuya Oaki ◽  
Hiroaki Imai

AbstractThe essence of morphological design has been a fascinating scientific problem with regard to understanding biological mineralization. Particularly shaped amorphous silicas (plant opals) play an important role in the vital activity in rice plants. Although various organic matters are associated with silica accumulation, their detailed functions in the shape-controlled mineralization process have not been sufficiently clarified. In the present study, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were found to be essential as a scaffold for silica accumulation in rice husks and leaf blades. Prior to silicification, CNFs ~ 10 nm wide are sparsely stacked in a space between the epidermal cell wall and the cuticle layer. Silica nanoparticles 20–50 nm in diameter are then deposited in the framework of the CNFs. The shape-controlled plant opals are formed through the intrafibrillar mineralization of silica nanoparticles on the CNF scaffold.


1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 846-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. Massicotte ◽  
C. A. Ackerley ◽  
R. L. Peterson

Seedlings of Alnuscrispa (Ait.) Pursh, Alnusrubra Bong., Eucalyptuspilularis Sm., and Betulaalleghaniensis Britt. were grown in plastic pouches and subsequently inoculated with Alpovadiplophloeus (Zeller & Dodge) Trappe & Smith (two different strains), Pisolithustinctorius (Pers.) Coker & Couch, and Laccariabicolor (R. Mre) Orton, respectively, to form ectomycorrhizae insitu. Alnus seedlings were inoculated with Frankia prior to inoculation with the mycosymbiont. The interface established between A. crispa and A. diplophloeus was complex, involving wall ingrowth formation in root epidermal cells and infoldings in Hartig net hyphae. Alnusrubra – A. diplophloeus ectomycorrhizae had an interface lacking epidermal cell wall ingrowths but with infoldings in Hartig net hyphae. The interface between E. pilularis –. tinctorius consisted of branching Hartig net hyphae between radially enlarged epidermal cells lacking wall ingrowths. Ectomycorrhizae between B. alleghaniensis and L. bicolor developed unique interfaces with radially enlarged epidermal cells near the apical meristem, which synthesized dense vacuolar deposits. Very fine branchings occurred in Hartig net hyphae.


2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kreitschitz ◽  
Zerihun Tadele ◽  
Edyta M. Gola

AbstractEragrostisis a cosmopolitan genus of the familyPoaceae. Several wild species, includingE. pilosa(L.) Beauv., are harvested for food, but the only cultivated crop-species is tef [E. tef(Zucc.) Trotter]. Despite its importance as a staple food and its plasticity to diverse environmental conditions, little is known about the structural and physiological strategies that adapt tef seeds to endure diverse and variable moisture regimes. Here, we report the presence of slime cells, a type of modified epidermal cell, covering the fruit of tef and its wild relative,E. pilosa. The slime produced byEragrostisbelongs to the ‘true’ slime type, since it is exclusively composed of pectins. Pectin forms uniform layers on the cell wall inner surface, which are confined by a thin cellulose layer to prevent release into the cell lumen. In the presence of water, pectins quickly hydrate, causing swelling of the slime cells. This is followed by their detachment, which may be controlled by a thin cuticle layer on the fruit surface. The ability of slime to absorb and maintain moisture around the grain is thought to be an adaptive feature forEragrostisgrowing in dry habitats. This retention of water by slime may create conditions that are suitable for rapid germination.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Andrawus Zhigila ◽  
Abdullahi Alanamu AbdulRahaman ◽  
Opeyemi Saheed Kolawole ◽  
Felix A. Oladele

Variations in the fruit morphological features of Capsicum annuum varieties were studied. Varieties studied include var. abbreviatum, var. annuum, var. accuminatum, var. grossum, and var. glabriusculum. The fruit morphology revealed attenuated fruit shape with rounded surfaces in var. glabriusculum, and cordate fruit shape with flexuous surface in var. annuum, abbreviatum and accuminatum. The fruit is a berry and may be green, yellow, or red when ripe. The fruit epidermal cell-wall patterns are polygonal in shape with straight and curved anticlinal walls in all the five varieties. The fruit of var. abbreviatum and var. grossum is trilocular, while that of var. accuminatum and annuum is bilocular, and that of var. glabriusculum is tetralocular. Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum had the highest mean number of seeds (108.4) and var. annuum had the lowest number of seeds (41.3) per fruit. The fruit is conspicuously hollowed in var. glabriusculum, accuminatum, and annuum but inconspicuously hollowed in var. abbreviatum and var. grossum. These features are shown to be good taxonomic characters for delimiting the five varieties of Capsicum annuum.


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 918-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lílian Estrela Borges Baldotto ◽  
Fábio Lopes Olivares

Plant surfaces are a favourable niche for bacterial establishment, and hypothetically, plant species differ in their capacity to harbour epiphytic bacterial communities. This study was conducted to evaluate and describe the structural relationship of a bacterial community at the phyllosphere level with different plant species in a tropical ecosystem. Leaf blades of 47 plant species distributed in 27 botanical families were collected on a typical small Brazilian farm and prepared for observation under light and scanning electron microscopy. Naturally occurring bacteria were the most abundant settlers of the phylloplane, followed by fungal spore or hyphae. All plant species studied were colonized by phylloepiphytic bacteria, which were observed as solitary cells, microcolonies, and biofilms. However, independent of the family, the plant species differed in the pattern of phyllosphere colonization, as reflected in bacteria frequency and presence or absence of anatomical features that would favour the association. The phylloepiphytic bacteria were preferentially established on the following sites: epidermal cell wall junctions, glandular and nonglandular trichomes, veins, stomata, and epidermal cell wall surface. Profuse bacteria and fungi colonization was observed, at a level that was at least comparable with temperate regions. Interestingly, fungi seemed to alter the bacteria colonization pattern, most probably by microenvironmental modifications. The trichome type and density as well as the presence of epicuticular wax on the leaf blade surface seemed to be the most determinant anatomical features for the pattern of phyllosphere colonization. The presence of trichomes has a favourable, and epicuticular wax an unfavourable influence on the plant–bacteria interaction.


1976 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1144-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Corlett ◽  
James Chong ◽  
E. G. Kokko

There are indications that the fungus enzymatically degrades the cuticle and epidermal cell wall. The epidermal cells and to a lesser degree the palisade mesophyll cells beneath a sporulating lesion (susceptible reaction) are killed or seriously disrupted. Various stages of conidiogenesis, including development of the primary conidium, were observed. A conidium is delimited by a two-layered transverse septum. Before conidium secession, a new two-layered inner wall is laid down around the entire conidiogenous cell adjacent to the plasmalemma. The apical region of the new inner wall proliferates beyond the annellation scar left by the seceded conidium and eventually produces another conidium.


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