The chemical composition of suberin in apoplastic barriers affects radial hydraulic conductivity differently in the roots of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IR64) and corn (Zea mays L. cv. Helix).
Apoplastic transport barriers in the roots of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IR64) and corn (Zea mays L. cv. Helix) were isolated enzymatically. Following chemical degradation (monomerization, derivatization), the amounts of aliphatic and aromatic suberin monomers were analysed quantitatively by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. In corn, suberin was determined for isolated endodermal (ECW) and rhizo-hypodermal (RHCW) cell walls. In rice, the strong lignification of the central cylinder (CC), did not allow the isolation of endodermal cell walls. Similarly, exodermal walls could not be separated from the rhizodermal and sclerenchyma cell layers. Suberin analyses of ECW and RHCW of rice, thus, refer to either the entire CC or to the entire outer part of the root (OPR), the latter lacking the inner cortical cell layer. In both species, aromatic suberin was mainly composed of coumaric and ferulic acids. Aliphatic suberin monomers released from rice and corn belonged to five substance classes: primary fatty acids, primary alcohols, diacids, omega-hydroxy fatty acids, and 2-hydroxy fatty acids, with omega-hydroxy fatty acids being the most prominent substance class. Qualitative composition of aliphatic suberin of rice was different from that of corn; (i) it was much less diverse, and (ii) besides monomers with chain lengths of C(16), a second maximum of C(28) was evident. In corn, C(24) monomers represented the most prominent class of chain lengths. When suberin quantities were related to surface areas of the respective tissues of interest (hypodermis and/or exodermis and endodermis), exodermal cell walls of rice contained, on average, six-times more aliphatic suberin than those of corn. In endodermal cell walls, amounts were 34 times greater in rice than in corn. Significantly higher amounts of suberin detected in the apoplastic barriers of rice corresponded with a substantially lower root hydraulic conductivity (Lp(r)) compared with corn, when water flow was driven by hydrostatic pressure gradients across the apoplast. As the OPR of rice is highly porous and permeable to water, it is argued that this holds true only for the endodermis. The results imply that some caution is required when discussing the role of suberin in terms of an efficient transport barrier for water. The simple view that only the quantity of suberin present is important, may not hold. A more detailed consideration of both the chemical nature of suberins and of the microstructure of deposits is required, i.e. how suberins impregnate wall pores.