Structure characteristics, differentiation, and development of laticifer in rubber-producing plants

<p indent="0mm">The plants that contain natural rubber are called rubber-producing plants, in which the laticifer is a special cell to synthesize and store natural rubber. The differentiation and development of laticifers and rubber particles inside are closely related to the rubber yield. Therefore, it is important to understand the structure and development of laticifer in rubber-producing plants. Rubber particle, lutoid, and F-W complex are the special ultrastructures of laticifer in rubber trees. Secondary laticifer can be significantly induced by mechanical wounding including tapping, and jasmonic acid (JA) is a key signal to regulate the differentiation of secondary laticifer. However, the molecular mechanism of laticifer differentiation is still not fully clear. In this article, the research progress on the structure and differentiation of laticifer in the major typical rubber-producing plants is reviewed, and the distribution and morphological structure of laticifer in <italic>Eucommia ulmoides</italic>, <italic>Taraxacum kok-saghyz</italic>, and <italic>Parthenium argentatum</italic> are different from those of rubber tree. This paper will lay a theoretical foundation for futher studies on the laticifer biology of rubber-producing plants.