Late-season biosynthesis of leaf fatty acids and n-alkanes of a mature beech (Fagus sylvatica) tree traced via ¹³CO₂ pulse-chase labelling and compound-specific isotope analysis.

ABSTRACT: Leaf cuticular waxes play an important role in reducing evapotranspiration via diffusion. However, the ability of mature trees to regulate the biosynthesis of waxes to changing conditions (e.g., drought, light exposition) remain an open question, especially during the late growing season. This holds also true for one of the most widely distributed trees in Central Europe, the European beech tree (Fagus sylvatica L.). In order to investigate the ongoing formation of wax constituents like alkanes and fatty acids, we conducted a ¹³CO₂ pulse-chase labelling experiment on sun-exposed and shaded branches of a mature beech tree during the late summer 2018. The ¹³C-label was traced via compound-specific δ¹³C isotope analysis of n<

SUBMITTER: Speckert TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9853289 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature