CYP86A33-targeted gene silencing in potato tuber alters suberin composition, distorts suberin lamellae, and impairs the periderm's water barrier function.
Suberin is a cell wall lipid polyester found in the cork cells of the periderm offering protection against dehydration and pathogens. Its biosynthesis and assembly, as well as its contribution to the sealing properties of the periderm, are still poorly understood. Here, we report on the isolation of the coding sequence CYP86A33 and the molecular and physiological function of this gene in potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber periderm. CYP86A33 was down-regulated in potato plants by RNA interference-mediated silencing. Periderm from CYP86A33-silenced plants revealed a 60% decrease in its aliphatic suberin load and greatly reduced levels of C18:1 omega-hydroxyacid (approximately 70%) and alpha,omega-diacid (approximately 90%) monomers in comparison with wild type. Moreover, the glycerol esterified to suberin was reduced by 60% in the silenced plants. The typical regular ultrastructure of suberin, consisting of dark and light lamellae, disappeared and the thickness of the suberin layer was clearly reduced. In addition, the water permeability of the periderm isolated from CYP86A33-silenced lines was 3.5 times higher than that of the wild type. Thus, our data provide convincing evidence for the involvement of omega-functional fatty acids in establishing suberin structure and function.
Serra
Olga
O
Laboratori del Suro, Departament de Biologia, Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, E-17071 Girona, Spain.
Soler
Marçal
M
Hohn
Carolin
C
Sauveplane
Vincent
V
Pinot
Franck
F
Franke
Rochus
R
Schreiber
Lukas
L
Prat
Salomé
S
Molinas
Marisa
M
Figueras
Mercè
M
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000235:genetics*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020868:Gene Silencing; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D035281:Plant Tubers / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D008055:Lipids; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014867:Water; C065875:suberin; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; C111056:CYP86A1 protein, Arabidopsis