Figure 3.

Altered Cuticles in the Stems and Leaves of dewax, the Wild Type, and DEWAX Overexpression Lines.

(A) Scanning electron microscopy images of epicuticular wax crystals on inflorescence stems of 5-week-old dewax, the wild type, and a DEWAX overexpression line (OX-1). Bars = 10 μm.

(B) Transmission electron microscopy images of cuticle layers in leaf epidermal cells of 5-week-old dewax, the wild type, and a DEWAX overexpression line (OX-1). CW, cell wall. Bars = 50 nm.

(C) and (D) Cuticular wax amounts and composition on inflorescence leaves (C) and stems (D) of 3- to 5-week-old wild type, dewax, DEWAX overexpression lines (OX-1 and OX-2), and DEWAX complementation lines (Com-1 and Com-2). Cuticular waxes were extracted with chloroform and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Error bars indicate se from four replicate experiments. Data were statistically analyzed using Student’s t test (*P < 0.01). FA, fatty acids; AL, aldehydes; PA, primary alcohols; AK, alkanes; SA, secondary alcohols, KE, ketones.

(E) Scanning electron microscopy images of epicuticular wax crystals on inflorescence stems of 4-week-old wild-type and transgenic plants expressing DEWAX under the control of a β-estradiol–inducible promoter. Three-week-old plants grown in soil were sprayed twice with β-estradiol for 7 d. (a) The wild type was treated with 10 μM β-estradiol solution. (b) Transgenic plants expressing DEWAX under the control of a β-estradiol–inducible promoter were treated with ethanol (mock). (c) Transgenic plants expressing DEWAX under the control of a β-estradiol–inducible promoter were treated with 10 μM β-estradiol solution. Bars = 10 μm.