Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms
Abstract Plants use chemistry to overcome diverse challenges. A particularly striking chemical trait that some plants possess is the ability to synthesize massive amounts of epicuticular wax that accumulates on the plant's surfaces as a white coating visible to the naked eye. The ability to syn...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-05-01
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| Series: | Plant Direct |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.588 |
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| _version_ | 1832541447992115200 |
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| author | Le Thanh Dien Nguyen Nicole Groth Kylie Mondloch Edgar B. Cahoon Keith Jones Lucas Busta |
| author_facet | Le Thanh Dien Nguyen Nicole Groth Kylie Mondloch Edgar B. Cahoon Keith Jones Lucas Busta |
| author_sort | Le Thanh Dien Nguyen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Plants use chemistry to overcome diverse challenges. A particularly striking chemical trait that some plants possess is the ability to synthesize massive amounts of epicuticular wax that accumulates on the plant's surfaces as a white coating visible to the naked eye. The ability to synthesize basic wax molecules appears to be shared among virtually all land plants, and our knowledge of ubiquitous wax compound synthesis is reasonably advanced. However, the ability to synthesize thick layers of visible epicuticular crystals (“wax blooms”) is restricted to specific lineages, and our knowledge of how wax blooms differ from ubiquitous wax layers is less developed. Here, we recruited the help of citizen scientists and middle school students to survey the wax bloom chemistry of 78 species spanning dicot, monocot, and gymnosperm lineages. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we found that the major wax classes reported from bulk wax mixtures can be present in wax bloom crystals, with fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and alkanes being present in many species' bloom crystals. In contrast, other compounds including aldehydes, ketones, secondary alcohols, and triterpenoids were present in only a few species' wax bloom crystals. By mapping the 78 wax bloom chemical profiles onto a phylogeny and using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we found that secondary alcohol and triterpenoid‐rich wax blooms were present in lineage‐specific patterns that would not be expected to arise by chance. That finding is consistent with reports that secondary alcohol biosynthesis enzymes are found only in certain lineages but was a surprise for triterpenoids, which are intracellular components in virtually all plant lineages. Thus, our data suggest that a lineage‐specific mechanism other than biosynthesis exists that enables select species to generate triterpenoid‐rich surface wax crystals. Overall, our study outlines a general mode in which research scientists can collaborate with citizen scientists as well as middle and high school classrooms not only to enhance data collection and generate testable hypotheses but also to directly involve classrooms in the scientific process and inspire future STEM workers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ed756c63f784456c9832440dfaf006e1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2475-4455 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plant Direct |
| spelling | doaj-art-ed756c63f784456c9832440dfaf006e12025-02-04T08:30:58ZengWileyPlant Direct2475-44552024-05-0185n/an/a10.1002/pld3.588Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax bloomsLe Thanh Dien Nguyen0Nicole Groth1Kylie Mondloch2Edgar B. Cahoon3Keith Jones4Lucas Busta5Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth Minnesota USADepartment of Biology University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth Minnesota USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth Minnesota USADepartment of Biochemistry University of Nebraska Lincoln Lincoln Nebraska USAMcDonald County R‐1 School District Anderson Missouri USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth Minnesota USAAbstract Plants use chemistry to overcome diverse challenges. A particularly striking chemical trait that some plants possess is the ability to synthesize massive amounts of epicuticular wax that accumulates on the plant's surfaces as a white coating visible to the naked eye. The ability to synthesize basic wax molecules appears to be shared among virtually all land plants, and our knowledge of ubiquitous wax compound synthesis is reasonably advanced. However, the ability to synthesize thick layers of visible epicuticular crystals (“wax blooms”) is restricted to specific lineages, and our knowledge of how wax blooms differ from ubiquitous wax layers is less developed. Here, we recruited the help of citizen scientists and middle school students to survey the wax bloom chemistry of 78 species spanning dicot, monocot, and gymnosperm lineages. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we found that the major wax classes reported from bulk wax mixtures can be present in wax bloom crystals, with fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and alkanes being present in many species' bloom crystals. In contrast, other compounds including aldehydes, ketones, secondary alcohols, and triterpenoids were present in only a few species' wax bloom crystals. By mapping the 78 wax bloom chemical profiles onto a phylogeny and using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we found that secondary alcohol and triterpenoid‐rich wax blooms were present in lineage‐specific patterns that would not be expected to arise by chance. That finding is consistent with reports that secondary alcohol biosynthesis enzymes are found only in certain lineages but was a surprise for triterpenoids, which are intracellular components in virtually all plant lineages. Thus, our data suggest that a lineage‐specific mechanism other than biosynthesis exists that enables select species to generate triterpenoid‐rich surface wax crystals. Overall, our study outlines a general mode in which research scientists can collaborate with citizen scientists as well as middle and high school classrooms not only to enhance data collection and generate testable hypotheses but also to directly involve classrooms in the scientific process and inspire future STEM workers.https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.588 |
| spellingShingle | Le Thanh Dien Nguyen Nicole Groth Kylie Mondloch Edgar B. Cahoon Keith Jones Lucas Busta Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms Plant Direct |
| title | Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms |
| title_full | Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms |
| title_fullStr | Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms |
| title_short | Project ChemicalBlooms: Collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms |
| title_sort | project chemicalblooms collaborating with citizen scientists to survey the chemical diversity and phylogenetic distribution of plant epicuticular wax blooms |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.588 |
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