FIGURE 8.

Bulliform‐enriched cuticles have a unique biochemical composition with major differences in cutin. (a) Representative profile of cutin monomer composition of abaxial (BC‐free) and adaxial (BC‐containing) adult maize leaf surfaces, extracted and depolymerized from epidermal peels after enzymatic digestion, and measured via GC‐MS. Monomer content of single compounds was normalized to overall cutin monomer load (inset). (b) Representative profile of cutin monomer composition of bulliform‐enriched mutants after whole‐tissue extraction and depolymerization, measured via GC‐MS. Monomer content of single compounds was normalized to overall cutin monomer load (inset). Values are given as means ± SD (n = 4 biological replicates per surface/genotype). Statistical analysis used two‐tailed unpaired Student's t‐test, with *p < .05, **p < .01, and ***p < .001. The cutin chromatographic traces contained 11 unidentified peaks, where the total unidentified peak area corresponded to 2.7 ± 0.2% (adaxial cutin) and 3.2 ± 0.05% (abaxial cutin) of the total integrated area (unidentified + identified)