Chemical and Mechanical Properties of Cuticular Membranes Isolated from Young Matured Leaves of Sonneratia alba

Yuki Takahashi,Shin Watanabe,Masahiro Sakamoto,Shuntaro Tsubaki,Wahyu Dwianto,Jun-Ichi Azuma

doi:10.51850/wrj.2011.2.1.69-72

Abstract

Leaf cuticular membranes (CMs) of Sonneratia alba are considered to play an important role in environmental tolerance, and chemical and mechanical properties of their CMs are crucial factors which provide protective barrier and mechanical supports. Leaf CMs were enzymatically isolated from both adaxial and abaxial sides of young matured leaves (L3), and their chemical and mechanical properties were compared. Chemical compositions of both CMs were similar reflecting their morphological similarity. The adaxial CM was consisted of 23.4% wax, 64.2% cutin, 7.4% cutan and 6.1% polysaccharides with thickness of 9 µm, and the abaxial CM had the values of 23.9%, 63.2%, 9.4%, 4.2% and 8 µm, respectively. Major monomers in both cutins were 9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid and 9(10),16-dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid. Mechanical properties of both CMs were also similar reflecting their morphological and chemical compositional similarities.

Highlights

Mangrove trees grow intertidal zones of tropical and subtropical areas showing zonal distributions parallel to the coastline
Aerial parts of higher plants are covered with a protective barrier, cuticle or cuticular membrane (CM), which consists of soluble wax fraction, aliphatic biopolyester cutin, persistent polymer called cutan and polysaccharides (Jeffree 1996; Heredia 2003)
CMs of S. alba leaves were well-developed throughout their surfaces

Summary

Introduction

Mangrove trees grow intertidal zones of tropical and subtropical areas showing zonal distributions parallel to the coastline. Sonneratia alba is a kind of mangrove species which widely distributed from East Africa to Southeast and East Asia and tropical Australia. They are generally distributed outermost area of intertidal zones with high environmental tolerance and often form a seaward fringe (Tomlinson 1986). Adaxial and abaxial sides of leaves have clearly different structure and chemical and mechanical properties (Azuma et al 2010). CMs were isolated from both adaxial and abaxial sides of leaves of S. alba and their chemical and mechanical properties were compared to give a proof of high environmental tolerance of S. alba

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Conclusions