Leaf Cuticular Waxes of Bermudagrass Response to Environment-Driven Adaptations of Climate Effect Inferred from Latitude and Longitude Gradient in China |
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| Authors: | Chen Chen Zhao Chen Minghui Chen Jingxue Zhang Liwen Wang Xuebing Yan |
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| Affiliation: | 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 China;2. Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225009 China Co-first author: Chen Chen and Zhao Chen contributed equally to the work.;3. College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037 China. |
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| Abstract: | Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is a widely used warm season lawn grass. Cuticular wax covering the surface of plant leaves plays an important role in helping plants resist biotic and abiotic stresses. We analyzed the changes of cuticle wax in 25 bermudagrass populations from different longitude and latitude gradients, in order to verify how environmental conditions affect the structure and chemical composition of cuticle wax. Five wax components were identified, including alkanes, esters, alkenes, aldehydes and primary alcohols. The wax characteristics were divided into two principal components, explaining 58.2 % and 66.7 % of the total variability in latitude and longitude, even some populations had a certain correlation with each other. Pearson correlation analysis further showed that the total wax coverage, wax component content and antioxidant enzyme activity of bermudagrass populations on the latitudinal gradient had different responses to environmental factors. Finally, nineteen key genes involved in wax biosynthesis, redox and photosynthesis were identified and verified by RT-qPCR. The results showed that the responses of bermudagrass in different populations to climate change were quite different, which was of great significance for the evolution of bermudagrass populations. |
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| Keywords: | bermudagrass climate effect leaf wax reactive oxygen species latitude |
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