Abstract
Plants produce a wide array of secretions both above and below ground. Known as mucilages or exudates, they are secreted by seeds, roots, leaves and stems and fulfil a variety of functions including adhesion, protection, nutrient acquisition and infection. Mucilages are generally polysaccharide-rich and often occur in the form of viscoelastic gels and in many cases have adhesive properties. In some cases, progress is being made in understanding the structure-function relationships of mucilages such as for the secretions that allow growing ivy to attach to substrates and the biosynthesis and secretion of the mucilage compounds of the Arabidopsis seed coat. Work is just beginning towards understanding root mucilage and the proposed adhesive polymers involved in the formation of rhizosheaths at root surfaces and for the secretions involved in host plant infection by parasitic plants. In this article, we summarise knowledge on plant exudates and mucilages within the concept of their functions in microenvironmental design, focusing in particular on their bioadhesive functions and the molecules responsible for them. We draw attention to areas of future knowledge need, including the microstructure of mucilages and their compositional and regulatory dynamics.
Highlights
Land plants have a great ability to adapt to a diverse range of environments
Depending on the plant species, exudates and mucilages can be secreted by almost any plant organ, and seemingly from all clades of the angiosperms (Brown et al, 2017), and in a few cases multiple exudate types with different origins have been described for the same species or genus (e.g. seed coat, haustorial and stem exudates for parasitic dodder (Cuscuta spp.)) (Schaffner, 1976; Lyshede, 1984; Vaughn, 2002)
Mucilages and other exudates provide an effective means to execute a variety of functions beyond the confines of their tissues and organ surfaces
Summary
Known as mucilages or exudates, they are secreted by seeds, roots, leaves and stems and fulfil a variety of functions including adhesion, protection, nutrient acquisition and infection. Progress is being made in understanding the structure– function relationships of mucilages such as for the secretions that allow growing ivy to attach to substrates and the biosynthesis and secretion of the mucilage compounds of the Arabidopsis seed coat. Work is just beginning towards understanding root mucilage and the proposed adhesive polymers involved in the formation of rhizosheaths at root surfaces and for the secretions involved in host plant infection by parasitic plants. We summarise knowledge on plant exudates and mucilages within the concept of their functions in microenvironmental design, focusing in particular on their bioadhesive functions and the molecules responsible for them. We draw attention to areas of future knowledge need, including the microstructure of mucilages and their compositional and regulatory dynamics
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