Land plants secrete a layer of wax onto their aerial surfaces that is essential for survival in a terrestrial environment. This wax is composed of long-chain, aliphatic hydrocarbons derived from very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). Using the Arabidopsis expressed sequence tag database, we have identified a gene, designated CUT1 , that encodes a VLCFA condensing enzyme required for cuticular wa...

Plants prevent dehydration by coating their aerial, primary organs with waxes. Wax compositions frequently differ between species, organs, and developmental stages, probably to balance limiting nonstomatal water loss with various other ecophysiological roles of surface waxes. To establish structure-function relationships, we quantified the composition and transpiration barrier properties of the...

ABSTRACT Russin, J. S., Guo, B. Z., Tubajika, K. M., Brown, R. L., Cleveland, T. E., and Widstrom, N. W. 1997. Comparison of kernel wax from corn genotypes resistant or susceptible to Aspergillus flavus. Phytopathology 87: 529-533.Kernels of corn genotype GT-MAS: gk are resistant to Aspergillus flavus. Earlier studies showed that this resistance is due in part to kernel pericarp wax. Experiment...

Wax D fraction extracted from human tubercle bacilli is a macromolecular peptide-glycolipid consisting of mycolic acid, polysaccharide, and peptide. Wax D fraction obtained from human tubercle bacilli showed characteristic biological activities such as adjuvant activity in the immune response, the induction of adjuvant arthritis in rats, and growth factor activity for pathogenic Leptospira when...

The hydrogen isotopic composition of terrestrial plant waxes (δ2Hwax) is widely used to reconstruct past hydroclimate. δ2Hwax values reflect source water or precipitation δ2H (δ2Hprecip) values, and when extracted from sediment archives, records δ2Hprecip can be generated. In order better interpret these records, modern calibrations between are required vegetation location diverge in other regi...

The aerial parts of plants are protected from desiccation and other stress by surface cuticular waxes. The total cuticular wax loads and the expression of wax biosynthetic genes are significantly downregulated in Arabidopsis thaliana under dark conditions. We isolated Decrease Wax Biosynthesis (DEWAX), which encodes an AP2/ERF-type transcription factor that is preferentially expressed in the ep...

Accumulation profiles of wax esters in Euglena gracilis Z were studied under several environmental conditions. The highest amount of total wax esters accumulated under hypoxia in the dark, and C28 (myristyl-myristate, C14:0-C14:0) was prevalent among all conditions investigated. The wax ester production was almost completely suppressed under anoxia in the light, and supplying exogenous inorgani...

The thermodynamics of wax formation in crude oils is examined and additional insights obtained into the problem. We show that a correlation for cloud point, or wax apppearance temperature, obtained for pure-substance waxes may be extended to mixtures of hydrocarbons, thereby generalising the usefulness of the correlation. We apply the colligative equation for freezing point depression to quanti...

Land plants secrete a layer of wax onto their aerial surfaces that is essential for survival in a terrestrial environment. This wax is composed of long-chain, aliphatic hydrocarbons derived from very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). Using the Arabidopsis expressed sequence tag database, we have identified a gene, designated CUT1, that encodes a VLCFA condensing enzyme required for cuticular wax...

This paper investigates the effects of cuticular wax on the release of strain and on the tensile properties of enzymatically isolated cuticular membranes (CMs) taken from leaves of agave (Agave americana), bush lily (Clivia miniata), holly (Ilex aquifolium), and ivy (Hedera helix) and from fruit of apple (Malus × domestica), pear (Pyrus communis), and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Biaxial s...