With a Little Help from My Cell Wall: Structural Modifications in Pectin May Play a Role to Overcome Both Dehydration Stress and Fungal Pathogens

Forand, Ariana D.; Finfrock, Y. Zou; Lavier, Miranda; Stobbs, Jarvis; Qin, Li; Wang, Sheng; Karunakaran, Chithra; Wei, Yangdou; Ghosh, Supratim; Tanino, Karen K.

doi:10.3390/plants11030385

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With a Little Help from My Cell Wall: Structural Modifications in Pectin May Play a Role to Overcome Both Dehydration Stress and Fungal Pathogens

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Karen K. Tanino

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Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada

Advanced Photo Source, Lemont, IL 60439, USA

Canadian Light Source, Saskatoon, SK S7N 2V3, Canada

⁴

Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada

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Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada

⁶

Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editors: Penélope García-Angulo and Asier Largo-Gosens

Plants 2022, 11(3), 385; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030385

Received: 14 December 2021 / Revised: 24 January 2022 / Accepted: 26 January 2022 / Published: 30 January 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Cell Wall Plasticity under Stress Situations)

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Abstract

Cell wall structural modifications through pectin cross-linkages between calcium ions and/or boric acid may be key to mitigating dehydration stress and fungal pathogens. Water loss was profiled in a pure pectin system and in vivo. While calcium and boron reduced water loss in pure pectin standards, the impact on Allium species was insignificant (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, synchrotron X-ray microscopy showed the localization of exogenously applied calcium to the apoplast in the epidermal cells of Allium fistulosum. Exogenous calcium application increased viscosity and resistance to shear force in Allium fistulosum, suggesting the formation of calcium cross-linkages (“egg-box” structures). Moreover, Allium fistulosum (freezing tolerant) was also more tolerant to dehydration stress compared to Allium cepa (freezing sensitive). Furthermore, the addition of boric acid (H₃BO₃) to pure pectin reduced water loss and increased viscosity, which indicates the formation of RG-II dimers. The Arabidopsis boron transport mutant, bor1, expressed greater water loss and, based on the lesion area of leaf tissue, a greater susceptibility to Colletotrichum higginsianum and Botrytis cinerea. While pectin modifications in the cell wall are likely not the sole solution to dehydration and biotic stress resistance, they appear to play an important role against multiple stresses. View Full-Text

Keywords: cell wall; pectin; calcium; boron; homogalacturonan; rhamnogalacturonan II; Botrytis cinerea; Colletotrichum higginsianum; dehydration; Allium and X-ray microscopy

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Forand, A.D.; Finfrock, Y.Z.; Lavier, M.; Stobbs, J.; Qin, L.; Wang, S.; Karunakaran, C.; Wei, Y.; Ghosh, S.; Tanino, K.K. With a Little Help from My Cell Wall: Structural Modifications in Pectin May Play a Role to Overcome Both Dehydration Stress and Fungal Pathogens. Plants 2022, 11, 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030385

AMA Style

Forand AD, Finfrock YZ, Lavier M, Stobbs J, Qin L, Wang S, Karunakaran C, Wei Y, Ghosh S, Tanino KK. With a Little Help from My Cell Wall: Structural Modifications in Pectin May Play a Role to Overcome Both Dehydration Stress and Fungal Pathogens. Plants. 2022; 11(3):385. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030385

Chicago/Turabian Style

Forand, Ariana D., Y. Z. Finfrock, Miranda Lavier, Jarvis Stobbs, Li Qin, Sheng Wang, Chithra Karunakaran, Yangdou Wei, Supratim Ghosh, and Karen K. Tanino. 2022. "With a Little Help from My Cell Wall: Structural Modifications in Pectin May Play a Role to Overcome Both Dehydration Stress and Fungal Pathogens" Plants 11, no. 3: 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030385

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