TY - JOUR
T1 - Dynamics of moisture diffusion and adsorption in plant cuticles including the role of cellulose
AU - Tredenick, E. C.
AU - Farquhar, G. D.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge funding provided by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis (CE1401000015). The authors wish to thank Nicole Pontarin for the insight and advice provided on the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Food production must increase significantly to sustain a growing global population. Reducing plant water loss may help achieve this goal and is especially relevant in a time of climate change. The plant cuticle defends leaves against drought, and so understanding water movement through the cuticle could help future proof our crops and better understand native ecology. Here, via mathematical modelling, we identify mechanistic properties of water movement in cuticles. We model water sorption in astomatous isolated cuticles, utilising three separate pathways of cellulose, aqueous pores and lipophilic. The model compares well to data both over time and humidity gradients. Sensitivity analysis shows that the grouping of parameters influencing plant species variations has the largest effect on sorption, those influencing cellulose are very influential, and aqueous pores less so but still relevant. Cellulose plays a significant role in diffusion and adsorption in the cuticle and the cuticle surfaces.
AB - Food production must increase significantly to sustain a growing global population. Reducing plant water loss may help achieve this goal and is especially relevant in a time of climate change. The plant cuticle defends leaves against drought, and so understanding water movement through the cuticle could help future proof our crops and better understand native ecology. Here, via mathematical modelling, we identify mechanistic properties of water movement in cuticles. We model water sorption in astomatous isolated cuticles, utilising three separate pathways of cellulose, aqueous pores and lipophilic. The model compares well to data both over time and humidity gradients. Sensitivity analysis shows that the grouping of parameters influencing plant species variations has the largest effect on sorption, those influencing cellulose are very influential, and aqueous pores less so but still relevant. Cellulose plays a significant role in diffusion and adsorption in the cuticle and the cuticle surfaces.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113236220&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-25225-y
DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-25225-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 34413297
AN - SCOPUS:85113236220
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 5042
ER -
