Definitions
- Cuticula:
-
Tough, flexible, non-mineral, hydrophobic, waxy cover layer that is produced by plant epidermal cells.
- Terpenoids:
-
Class of specialized plant metabolites that is derived from isoprene and contains oxygen functions.
Structure and Occurrence
Plant leaves and petals are covered by cuticular waxes that are formed by organic substances that are not water soluble and thus can form non-wet-table films (Holloway and Jeffree 2016). Cuticular waxes can not only contain alkanes, alkane alcohols, alkane acids, and their esters, so-called wax esters, but also di- and triterpenes from the isoprenoid pathways (Gütz 1989). More detailed studies on Prunus laurocerasus suggest that the epicuticular wax layer may be composed of higher amounts of alkanes, whereas triterpenes dominate in the intracuticular layer of the leaf cuticle (Jetter et al. 2000). The most widely employed sample preparation method, rinsing leaves with nonpolar organic solvents, does not differentiate between...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Abbreviations
- CBC:
-
Chair-boat-chair
- CCC:
-
Chair-chair-chair
- OSCs:
-
Oxidosqualene cyclases
References
Caissard J-C, Olivier T, Delbecque C, Palle S, Garry P-P, Audran A, et al. Extracellular localization of the diterpene sclareol in clary sage (Salvia sclarea L., Lamiaceae). PLoS One. 2012;7:e48253.
Eigenbrode SD, Espelie KE. Effects of plant epicuticular lipids on insect herbivores. Annu Rev Entomol. 1995;40:171–94.
Gütz P-G. Triterpenoids in epicuticular waxes. In: Biacs PA, Gruiz K, Kremmer T, editors. Biological role of plant lipids. Boston: Springer; 1989. p. 325–8.
Holloway PJ, Jeffree CE. Epicuticular waxes. In: Thomas B, Murphy DJ, Murray BG, editors. Encyclopedia of applied plant sciences. 2nd ed. Saint Louis: Elsevier Science; 2016. p. 374–86.
Jetter R, Schäffer S, Riederer M. Leaf cuticular waxes are arranged in chemically and mechanically distinct layers: evidence from Prunus laurocerasus L. Plant Cell Environ. 2000;23:619–28.
Markstädter C, Federle W, Jetter R, Riederer M, Hölldobler B. Chemical composition of the slippery epicuticular wax blooms on Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) ant-plants. Chemoecology. 2000;10:33–40.
Oldfield E, Lin F. Terpene biosynthesis: modularity rules. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2012;51:1124–37.
Percy KE, Manninen S, Haberle K-H, Heerdt C, Werner H, Henderson GW, Matyssek R. Effect of 3 years’ free-air exposure to elevated ozone on mature Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) needle epicuticular wax physicochemical characteristics. Environ Pollut. 2009;157:1657–65.
Santos S, Schreiber L, Graça J. Cuticular waxes from Ivy leaves (Hedera helix L.): analysis of high-molecular-weight esters. Phytochem Anal. 2007;18:60–9.
Thimmappa R, Geisler K, Louveau T, O’Maille P, Osbourn A. Triterpene biosynthesis in plants. Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2014;65:225–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hadacek, F. (2017). Cuticular Wax Terpenoids in Plants: Functional Diversity of. In: Wenk, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lipidomics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7864-1_131-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7864-1_131-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7864-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7864-1
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences