The molecular structure of plant sporopollenin

Li, Fu-Shuang; Phyo, Pyae; Jacobowitz, Joseph; Hong, Mei; Weng, Jing-Ke

doi:10.1038/s41477-018-0330-7

The molecular structure of plant sporopollenin

Journal Article · Mon Dec 17 04:00:00 EST 2018 · Nature Plants (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-018-0330-7· OSTI ID:1566613

Li, Fu-Shuang; ; Jacobowitz, Joseph; Hong, Mei;

Sporopollenin is a ubiquitous and extremely chemically inert biopolymer that constitutes the outer wall of all land-plant spores and pollen grains1. Sporopollenin protects the vulnerable plant gametes against a wide range of environmental assaults, and is considered a prerequisite for the migration of early plants onto land2. Despite its importance, the chemical structure of plant sporopollenin has remained elusive1. Using a newly developed thioacidolysis degradative method together with state-of-the-art solid-state NMR techniques, we determined the detailed molecular structure of pine sporopollenin. We show that pine sporopollenin is primarily composed of aliphatic-polyketide-derived polyvinyl alcohol units and 7-O-p-coumaroylated C16 aliphatic units, crosslinked through a distinctive dioxane moiety featuring an acetal. Naringenin was also identified as a minor component of pine sporopollenin. This discovery answers the long-standing question about the chemical make-up of plant sporopollenin, laying the foundation for future investigations of sporopollenin biosynthesis and for the design of new biomimetic polymers with desirable inert properties.

Research Organization:: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Lignocellulose Structure and Formation (CLSF); Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE SC Office of Basic Energy Sciences (SC-22)

DOE Contract Number:: SC0001090

OSTI ID:: 1566613

Journal Information:: Nature Plants (Online), Journal Name: Nature Plants (Online) Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 5; ISSN 2055-0278

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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