The auronidin flavonoid pigments of the liverwort <i>Marchantia polymorpha</i> form polymers that modify cell wall properties
Plant adaptation from aquatic to terrestrial environments required modifications to cell wall structure and function to provide tolerance to new abiotic and biotic stressors. Here, we investigate the nature and function of red auronidin pigment accumulation in the cell wall of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. Transgenic plants with auronidin production either constitutive or absent were analysed for their cell wall properties, including fractionation of polysaccharide and phenolic components. While small amounts of auronidin and other flavonoids were loosely associated with the cell wall, the majority of the pigments were tightly associated, similar to what is observed in angiosperms for polyphenolics such as lignin. No evidence of covalent binding to a polysaccharide component was found: we propose auronidin is present in the wall as a physically entrapped large molecular weight polymer. The results suggested auronidin is a dual function molecule that can both screen excess light and increase wall strength, hydrophobicity and resistance to enzymatic degradation by pathogens. Thus, liverworts have expanded the core phenylpropanoid toolkit that was present in the ancestor of all land plants, to deliver a lineage-specific solution to some of the environmental stresses faced from a terrestrial lifestyle.
Authors
- Laura G. Raymond (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3263-4262)
- Alankar A. Vaidya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5209-4000)
- Nick W. Albert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8579-529X)
- Tony K. McGhie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8016-0244)
- Yanfei Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9607-8376)
- Kathy E. Schwinn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6337-3627)
- Stefan Hill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4452-9152)
- Edwin R. Lampugnani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3666-7240)
- Monika S. Doblin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8921-2725)
- Pengfei Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7751-1982)
- Rubina Jibran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4709-4281)
- Kevin M. Davies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5652-5015)
- David A. Brummell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2754-6340)
- Antony Bacic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7483-8605)
- Brian R. Jordan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0280-681X)
- Erin M. O’Donoghue
- John L. Bowman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7347-3691)
Institutions
- University of Tasmania (AU)
- Plant & Food Research (NZ)
- Scion (NZ)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Lincoln University (NZ)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Ministry for Primary Industries (NZ)
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Plant Journal
- Published
- 2024-09-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.17045
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Plant Gene Expression Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.10
Funders
- La Trobe University
- Marsden Fund