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Published on October 14, 2009; 10.1104/pp.109.143388

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Received June 22, 2009
Accepted October 7, 2009

The Arabidopsis DCR Encoding a Soluble BAHD Acyltransferase is Required for Cutin Polyester Formation and Seed Hydration Properties

David Panikashvili , Jian Xin Shi , Lukas Schreiber , and Asaph Aharoni *

Department of Plant Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany (IZMB), Department of Ecophysiology, Kirschallee 1, University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany

* Corresponding author; email: asaph.aharoni{at}weizmann.ac.il.

The cuticle covering every plant aerial organ is largely made of cutin that consists of fatty acids, glycerol and aromatic monomers. Despite the huge importance of the cuticle to plant development and fitness our knowledge regarding the assembly of the cutin polymer and its integration in the complete cuticle structure is limited. Cutin composition implies the action of acyltransferase-type enzymes that mediate polymer construction through ester bond formation. Here we show that a member of the BAHD family of acyltransferases (DCR) is required for incorporation of the most abundant monomer into the polymeric structure of the Arabidopsis flower cutin. DCR deficient plants display phenotypes that are typically associated with a defective cuticle including altered epidermal cell differentiation and post-genital organ fusion. Moreover, levels of the major cutin monomer in flowers, 9(10), 16-dihydroxy-hexadecanoic acid, decreased to almost undetectable amount in the mutants. Interestingly, dcr mutants exhibit changes in the decoration of petal conical cells and mucilage extrusion in the seed coat, both phenotypes formerly not associated with cutin polymer assembly. Excessive root branching displayed by dcr mutants and DCR expression pattern in roots pointed to the function of DCR below ground, in shaping root architecture by influencing the lateral roots emergence and growth. In addition, the dcr mutants were more susceptible to salinity, osmotic and water deprivation stress conditions. Finally, the analysis of the DCR protein localization suggested that cutin polymerization, possibly the oligomerization step, is partially carried out in the cytoplasmic space. This study therefore extends our knowledge regarding the functionality of the cuticular layer and the formation of its major constituent the polymer cutin.






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