The positional sterile (ps) mutation affects cuticular transpiration and wax biosynthesis of tomato fruits

Cuticular waxes are known to play a pivotal role in limiting transpirational water loss across primary plant surfaces. The astomatous tomato fruit is an ideal model system that permits the functional characterization of intact cuticular membranes and therefore allows direct correlation of their permeance for water with their qualitative and quantitative composition. The recessive positional sterile (ps) mutation, which occurred spontaneously in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), is characterized by floral organ fusion and positional sterility. Because of a striking phenotypical similarity with the lecer6 wax mutant of tomato, which is defective in very-long-chain fatty acid elongation, ps mutant fruits were analyzed for their cuticular wax and cutin composition. We also examined their cuticular permeance for water following the developmental course of fruit ripening. Wild type and ps mutant fruits showed considerable differences in their cuticular permeance for water, while exhibiting similar quantitative wax accumulation. The ps mutant fruits showed a five- to eightfold increase in water loss per unit time and surface area when compared to the corresponding wild type fruits. The cuticular waxes of ps mutant fruits were characterized by an almost complete absence of n-alkanes and aldehydes, with a concomitant increase in triterpenoids and sterol derivatives. We also noted the occurrence of alkyl esters not present in the wild type. Quantitative and qualitative cutin monomer composition remained largely unaffected. The significant differences in the cuticular wax composition of ps mutant fruits induced a distinct increase of cuticular water permeance. The fruit wax compositional phenotype indicates the ps mutation is responsible for effectively blocking the decarbonylation pathway of wax biosynthesis in epidermal cells of tomato fruits.     

Low proton conductance of plant cuticles and its relevance to the Acid-growth theory

Evidence obtained on the relation between the pH of the medium and the growth of intact stem sections is compatible with the acid-growth theory only if the proton conductance of the cuticle is so low that the cuticle is an effective barrier to the entry or exit of protons from the tissue. By measuring the rate at which protons cross frozen-thawed epidermal strips of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and soybean hypocotyls (Glycine max Morr.) and enzymically isolated cuticles of Berberis aquifolium Persh. and tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) fruit, we have now demonstrated the low proton conductance of the cuticular layer. Unless the conductance is enhanced by abrasion of the cuticle or by removal of the cuticular waxes, proton movement into and out of a tissue across the cuticle will be significant only over long time periods.     

A novel class of sticky peel and light green mutations causes cuticle deficiency in leaves and fruits of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

The plant cuticle consists of aliphatic wax and cutin, and covers all the aerial tissues, conferring resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we performed phenotypic characterizations of tomato mutants having both sticky peel (pe) and light green (lg) mutations. Our genetic analysis showed that these two mutations are tightly linked and behave like a monogenic recessive mutation. The double mutant (pe lg) produced glossy soft fruits with light green leaves, most likely due to defects in cuticle formation. Cytological analysis revealed that the thickness of the fruit cuticle layer was dramatically reduced in the pe lg mutant. The epidermal cells of the leaves were also deformed in the pe lg mutant, suggesting that leaf cuticle formation was also disrupted in the mutant. Consistent with this, transmission electron microscopic analysis showed that the electron density of the cuticle layer of the adaxial surface of the leaf was reduced in the pe lg mutant compared to WT, suggesting that there are changes in cuticle structure and/or composition in the pe lg mutant. Both physiological analysis to measure the rate of transpiration, and staining of the fruits and leaves with toluidine blue, revealed that water permeability was enhanced in the pe lg mutant, consistent with the reduced thickness of its cuticle layer. Taken together the preliminary analyses of the cuticle components, the PE LG is most likely involved in proper cuticle formation.     

Isolation and Biophysical Study of Fruit Cuticles

The cuticle, a hydrophobic protective layer on the aerial parts of terrestrial plants, functions as a versatile defensive barrier to various biotic and abiotic stresses and also regulates water flow from the external environment.¹ A biopolyester (cutin) and long-chain fatty acids (waxes) form the principal structural framework of the cuticle; the functional integrity of the cuticular layer depends on the outer ''epicuticular'' layer as well as the blend consisting of the cutin biopolymer and ''intracuticular'' waxes.² Herein, we describe a comprehensive protocol to extract waxes exhaustively from commercial tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit cuticles or to remove epicuticular and intracuticular waxes sequentially and selectively from the cuticle composite. The method of Jetter and Schäffer (2001) was adapted for the stepwise extraction of epicuticular and intracuticular waxes from the fruit cuticle.^3,4 To monitor the process of sequential wax removal, solid-state cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning (CPMAS) ¹³C NMR spectroscopy was used in parallel with atomic force microscopy (AFM), providing molecular-level structural profiles of the bulk materials complemented by information on the microscale topography and roughness of the cuticular surfaces. To evaluate the cross-linking capabilities of dewaxed cuticles from cultivated wild-type and single-gene mutant tomato fruits, MAS ¹³C NMR was used to compare the relative proportions of oxygenated aliphatic (CHO and CH₂O) chemical moieties.Exhaustive dewaxing by stepwise Soxhlet extraction with a panel of solvents of varying polarity provides an effective means to isolate wax moieties based on the hydrophobic characteristics of their aliphatic and aromatic constituents, while preserving the chemical structure of the cutin biopolyester. The mechanical extraction of epicuticular waxes and selective removal of intracuticular waxes, when monitored by complementary physical methodologies, provides an unprecedented means to investigate the cuticle assembly: this approach reveals the supramolecular organization and structural integration of various types of waxes, the architecture of the cutin-wax matrix, and the chemical composition of each constituent. In addition, solid-state ¹³C NMR reveals differences in the relative numbers of CHO and CH₂O chemical moieties for wild-type and mutant red ripe tomato fruits. The NMR techniques offer exceptional tools to fingerprint the molecular structure of cuticular materials that are insoluble, amorphous, and chemically heterogeneous. As a noninvasive surface-selective imaging technique, AFM furnishes an effective and direct means to probe the structural organization of the cuticular assembly on the nm-μm length scale.     

Cutinsomes and lipotubuloids appear to participate in cuticle formation in Ornithogalum umbellatum ovary epidermis: EM–immunogold research

The outer wall of Ornithogalum umbellatum ovary and the fruit epidermis are covered with a thick cuticle and contain lipotubuloids incorporating ³H-palmitic acid. This was earlier evidenced by selective autoradiographic labelling of lipotubuloids. After post-incubation in a non-radioactive medium, some marked particles insoluble in organic solvents (similar to cutin matrix) moved to the cuticular layer. Hence, it was hypothesised that lipotubuloids participated in cuticle synthesis. It was previously suggested that cutinsomes, nanoparticles containing polyhydroxy fatty acids, formed the cuticle. Thus, identification of the cutinsomes in O. umbellatum ovary epidermal cells, including lipotubuloids, was undertaken in order to verify the idea of lipotubuloid participation in cuticle synthesis in this species. Electron microscopy and immunogold method with the antibodies recognizing cutinsomes were used to identify these structures. They were mostly found in the outer cell wall, the cuticular layer and the cuticle proper. A lower but still significant degree of labelling was also observed in lipotubuloids, cytoplasm and near plasmalemma of epidermal cells. It seems that cutinsomes are formed in lipotubuloids and then they leave them and move towards the cuticle in epidermal cells of O. umbellatum ovary. Thus, we suggest that (1) cutinsomes could take part in the synthesis of cuticle components also in plant species other than tomato, (2) the lipotubuloids are the cytoplasmic domains connected with cuticle formation and (3) this process proceeds via cutinsomes.     

Cloning of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brcer1</Emphasis> gene involved in cuticular wax production in a glossy mutant of non-heading Chinese cabbage (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica rapa</Emphasis> L. var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">communis</Emphasis>)

Cuticular wax is a complex mixture of very-long-chain fatty acid derivatives. The wax on the surface of plants serves as a protective barrier to reduce non-stomatal water loss and environmental damage. However, the loss of wax may lead to a glossy phenotype, which is an favorable trait in leafy vegetables. The mechanism of glossy mutants in non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. var. communis) has not been studied yet. In this study, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the cuticular wax on the leaves and stem of a glossy mutant was dramatically reduced compared with that of the wild-type plant. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the cuticle ultrastructure of glossy mutant leaf and stem were altered when compared with the wild type. A cuticle wax analysis showed the total wax content of leaves, as well as alkanes, ketones and alcohols, was decreased. A genetic analysis indicated that the glossy phenotype was controlled by a single gene. Based on a homology analysis, the Brcer1 gene was identified as the candidate gene controlling the glossy phenotype. In the glossy mutant, a 39-bp deletion leads to an mRNA disruption and reduces the expression of the BrCER1 gene. Sequence analysis showed that a loss of function mutation in the Brcer1 gene was different from that of Cgl1, which was previously shown to be responsible for the glossy phenotype in B. oleracea, showing typical parallel selection. These findings provide a better understanding of the cuticular wax biosynthesis pathway and offer important information for molecular-assisted breeding of non-heading Chinese cabbage (B. rapa L. var. communis).     

The identification of a gene (Cwp1), silenced during Solanum evolution, which causes cuticle microfissuring and dehydration when expressed in tomato fruit

One of the most intriguing phenomena of fleshy fruit is the ability to maintain high water content at maturity, even following harvest. This is accomplished by a fruit cuticle that is highly impermeable to water diffusion. In this paper, we report on a novel genotype of tomato, developed via introgression from the wild species Solanum habrochaites, which is characterized by microfissuring of the fruit cuticle and dehydration of the mature fruit. The microfissure/dehydration phenotype is inherited as a single gene, termed Cwp1 (cuticular water permeability). The gene was fine mapped, and its identity was determined by map-based cloning and differential expression analysis in near-isogenic lines. Causality of the Cwp1 gene was shown by the heterologous transgenic expression of the gene in the cultivated tomato, which caused a microfissured fruit cuticle leading to dehydrated fruit. Cwp1 encodes for a protein of unidentified function in the DUF833 domain family. The gene is expressed in the fruit epidermis of the dehydrating genotype harbouring the wild-species introgression, but not in the cultivated tomato. It is expressed only in the primitive green-fruited wild tomato species, but is not expressed in the cultivated Solanum lycopersicum and the closely related Solanum cheesmaniae and Solanum pimpinellifolium, indicating a pre-adaptive role for Cwp1 silencing in the evolution and domestication of the cultivated tomato.