The structural and histochemical analyses and chemical characters of the cuticle and epidermal walls of cotyledon in ungerminated seeds of Zostera marina L.

Abstract

How Zostera marina L. adapts to environmental stresses is of major interest to researchers wanting to obtain a better understanding of how to preserve this ecologically important seagrass. We have examined the structure and chemical properties of the cuticle and epidermal walls of Z. marina cotyledons at the pre-germination stage by microscopy, histochemistry, and chemical analyses. The epidermal cells, which have a smooth plasma membrane and slight wall-ingrowth, are surrounded by thickened outer tangential walls consisting of cellulose and pectic substances. The thick cuticle layer covers the outer surface of the outer tangential walls; the former were observed here to be much thicker than has been reported earlier for the leaves and sheaths of Z. marina. Chemical analysis of the isolated cuticle by attenuated total reflectance–infrared Fourier transform spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry detected C16 and C18 fatty acids, ω-hydroxy fatty acids and β-sitosterol as components of the wax and cutin. The outermost cuticle layer was also observed to be covered with a slimy layer consisting of some polysaccharides. These results suggest that the extremely thick cuticle and slimy layer could play a significant role in protecting the cotyledons from environmental stresses at the pre-emergence stage and just after emergence.