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Plastid role in phytomelanin synthesis in Piptocarpha axillaris (Less.) Baker stems (Asteraceae, Vernonieae)

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Abstract

Phytomelanin is a brown to black pigment found in plant tissues, mainly in Asparagales and Asteraceae species. However, few studies deal with the processes of its synthesis, and there are still many questions to be answered regarding the organelles involved in this process and their functions, especially in vegetative organs. In a previous study with stems and leaves of 77 Vernonieae (Asteraceae) species, phytomelanin was demonstrated to always be associated with sclereids, which suggests the involvement of these cells in the pigment synthesis. Thus, we selected another species of tribe Vernonieae, Piptocarpha axillaris (Less.) Baker, which produces abundant phytomelanin secretion in stem tissues, to investigate which cells and organelles are involved in the synthesis and release of this pigment, as well as its distribution in the tissues. To achieve this goal, stems in different developmental phases were analyzed under light and transmission electron microscopy. Anatomical analysis showed that the polymerization of phytomelanin in P. axillaris starts at the second stem node, in the pith region, and occurs simultaneously with sclereid differentiation. The plastids of cells that will differentiate into sclereids actively participate in the phenolic material synthesis, following the “tannosome” and the “pearl necklace” models, giving rise to the main precursor of phytomelanin, which is then polymerized in the intercellular spaces during the sclerification process of sclereids. In stems with an established secondary structure, the pigment can be observed more frequently in the cortex, pericycle, primary phloem, secondary phloem, and pith.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Departamento de Botânica of the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - UFSC, especially to the Laboratório de Anatomia Vegetal (LAVEG) for the structure provided. The group wishes to thank the Laboratório Central de Microscopia Eletrônica (LCME-BIO-2020, UFSC) and the Laboratório Multiusuário de Estudos em Biologia (LAMEB, UFSC) for the use of its facilities. Thanks to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for the productivity grant (311721/2018-4) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) by the Master’s Degree fellowship granted to the first author (CAPES-DS from 01 March 2017 to 28 February 2019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia de Fungos, Algas e Plantas (PPGFAP), Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88040-900, Brazil

    Josiane Wolff Coutinho, Ana C. Rodrigues, Fernanda M. C. Oliveira & Makeli G. Lusa

  2. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Escola Superior de Agricultura ‘Luiz de Queiroz’, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil

    Beatriz Appezzato-da-Glória

  3. Laboratório Central de Microscopia Eletrônica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88040-900, Brazil

    Eliana M. Oliveira

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  1. Josiane Wolff Coutinho
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Correspondence to Josiane Wolff Coutinho.

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Coutinho, J.W., Rodrigues, A.C., Appezzato-da-Glória, B. et al. Plastid role in phytomelanin synthesis in Piptocarpha axillaris (Less.) Baker stems (Asteraceae, Vernonieae). Protoplasma 258, 963–977 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-021-01615-3

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