Microscopy and chemical analyses reveal flavone-based woolly fibres extrude from micron-sized holes in glandular trichomes of Dionysia tapetodes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Dionysia tapetodes, a small cushion-forming mountainous evergreen in the Primulaceae, possesses a vast surface-covering of long silky fibres forming the characteristic "woolly" farina. This contrasts with some related Primula which instead form a fine powder. Farina is formed by specialized cellular factories, a type of glandular trichome, but the precise composition of the fibres and how it exits the cell is poorly understood. Here, using a combination of cell biology (electron and light microscopy) and analytical chemical techniques, we present the principal chemical components of the wool and its mechanism of exit from the glandular trichome.

Results

We show the woolly farina consists of micron-diameter fibres formed from a mixture of flavone and substituted fl

SUBMITTER: Bourdon M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8210372 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature