A phenol-enriched cuticle is ancestral to lignin evolution in land plants

Hugues Renault, Annette Alber, Nelly A. Horst, Alexandra Basilio Lopes, Eric A. Fich, Lucie Kriegshauser, Gertrud Wiedemann, Pascaline Ullmann, Laurence Herrgott, Mathieu Erhardt, Emmanuelle Pineau, Jürgen Ehlting, Martine Schmitt, Jocelyn K. C. Rose, Ralf Reski () and Danièle Werck-Reichhart ()
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Hugues Renault: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Annette Alber: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Nelly A. Horst: Faculty of Biology, Chair of Plant Biotechnology, University of Freiburg
Alexandra Basilio Lopes: Laboratoire d’Innovation Thérapeutique, UMR CNRS 7200, Université de Strasbourg
Eric A. Fich: Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University
Lucie Kriegshauser: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Gertrud Wiedemann: Faculty of Biology, Chair of Plant Biotechnology, University of Freiburg
Pascaline Ullmann: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Laurence Herrgott: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Mathieu Erhardt: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Emmanuelle Pineau: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Jürgen Ehlting: University of Victoria
Martine Schmitt: Laboratoire d’Innovation Thérapeutique, UMR CNRS 7200, Université de Strasbourg
Jocelyn K. C. Rose: Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University
Ralf Reski: Faculty of Biology, Chair of Plant Biotechnology, University of Freiburg
Danièle Werck-Reichhart: University of Strasbourg, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Lignin, one of the most abundant biopolymers on Earth, derives from the plant phenolic metabolism. It appeared upon terrestrialization and is thought critical for plant colonization of land. Early diverging land plants do not form lignin, but already have elements of its biosynthetic machinery. Here we delete in a moss the P450 oxygenase that defines the entry point in angiosperm lignin metabolism, and find that its pre-lignin pathway is essential for development. This pathway does not involve biochemical regulation via shikimate coupling, but instead is coupled with ascorbate catabolism, and controls the synthesis of the moss cuticle, which prevents desiccation and organ fusion. These cuticles share common features with lignin, cutin and suberin, and may represent the extant representative of a common ancestor. Our results demonstrate a critical role for the ancestral phenolic metabolism in moss erect growth and cuticle permeability, consistent with importance in plant adaptation to terrestrial conditions.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14713

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