title: Identification and comparison of natural rubber from two Lactuca species.
abstract: Renewed interest in the identification of alternative sources of natural rubber to Hevea brasiliensis has focused on the Compositae family. In our search for Compositae models for rubber synthesis, we extracted latex from stems of two lettuce species: Lactuca serriola, prickly lettuce, and Lactuca sativa cv. Salinas, crisphead lettuce. Both species contained cis-1,4-polyisoprene rubber in the dichloromethane-soluble portions of their latex, and sesquiterpene lactones in their acetone-soluble portions. The rubber from both species and their progeny had molecular weights in excess of 1,000,000g/mol, and polydispersity values of 1.1. Rubber transferase activity was detected across a range of farnesyl diphosphate initiator concentrations, with decreased activity as initiator concentrations exceeded putative saturation. These results add lettuce to the short list of plant species that produce high molecular weight rubber in their latex. Due to the genomic and agronomic resources available in lettuce species, they provide the opportunity for further dissection of natural rubber biosynthesis in plants.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, 111 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Bushman
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Scholte
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cornish
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Jenny L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Brichta
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vederas
authors.forename: Oswaldo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ochoa
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Michelmore
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Shintani
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Knapp
mesh_terms: D007783:Lactones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018545:Lactuca / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012408:Rubber / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007783:Lactones; D011108:Polymers; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D012408:Rubber