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Intracuticular wax fixes and restricts strain in leaf and fruit cuticles
Author(s) -
Khanal Bishnu Prasad,
Grimm Eckhard,
Finger Sebastian,
Blume Alfred,
Knoche Moritz
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.12355
Subject(s) - wax , ultimate tensile strength , botany , materials science , pear , strain (injury) , extraction (chemistry) , horticulture , chemistry , composite material , biology , chromatography , anatomy
Summary This paper investigates the effects of cuticular wax on the release of strain and on the tensile properties of enzymatically isolated cuticular membranes ( CMs ) taken from leaves of agave ( A gave americana ), bush lily ( C livia miniata ), holly ( I lex aquifolium ), and ivy ( H edera helix ) and from fruit of apple ( M alus × domestica ), pear ( P yrus communis ), and tomato ( L ycopersicon esculentum ). Biaxial strain release was quantified as the decrease in CM disc area following wax extraction. Stiffness, maximum strain and maximum force were determined in uniaxial tensile tests using strips of CM and dewaxed CMs ( DCMs ). Biaxial strain release, stiffness, and maximum strain, but not maximum force, were linearly related to the amount of wax extracted. Apple CM has the most wax and here the effect of wax extraction was substantially accounted for by the embedded cuticular wax. Heating apple CM to 80°C melted some wax constituents and produced an effect similar to, but smaller than, that resulting from wax extraction. Our results indicate that wax ‘fixes’ strain, effectively converting reversible elastic into irreversible plastic strain. A consequence of ‘fixation’ is increased cuticular stiffness.