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1Centre for Biostructural & Biomolecular Research, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia
* For correspondence. E-mail p_gersbach@hotmail.com
Received: 13 June 2001; Returned for revision: 3 October 2001; Accepted: 13 November 2001.
| ABSTRACT |
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The structure of the essential oil secretory tissues of Prostanthera ovalifolia R.Br was investigated using bright- and dark-field optical microscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The leaves of P. ovalifolia have glandular trichomes of the peltate type common to many Lamiaceae species. The trichomes consist of a basal cell embedded in the epidermis, a stalk cell with heavily cutinized walls and a 16-celled secretory head, but they differ from those of many previously reported Lamiaceae species in their morphological form defined by the elevated cuticle. The sub-cuticular space contains a mixture of lipid and aqueous phases. Secretory cells have dense cytoplasm with many leucoplasts present. Volatile terpenoids are eliminated from the cytoplasm into the sub-cuticular space, the site of essential oil accumulation, via granulocrine secretion.
Key words: Trichomes, Lamiaceae, secretion, essential oil, volatile terpenoids, Prostanthera ovalifolia, optical microscopy, electron microscopy.
| INTRODUCTION |
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Reports indicate that, within the family, different species can have both peltate and capitate trichomes, peltate or capitate only or, more rarely, neither. In a recent study of Lamiaceae secretory structures, Corsi and Bottega (1999) identified four different types of capitate trichomes on the leaves of Salvia officinalis, in addition to peltate trichomes. Each type had a different spatial arrangement and function, secreting different combinations, or proportions, of lipophilic and hydrophilic material.
Many species endemic in Australia are known to synthesize and accumulate significant quantities of volatile terpenoids. The range of known essential oil plants, their essential oil compositions and the properties of and potential uses for the oil have been reviewed periodically (Lassak and Southwell, 1977; Southwell, 1987; Southwell and Brophy, 2000). The Myrtaceae family is the most extensively studied, with the genera Eucalyptus (Boland et al., 1991) and Melaleuca (Riedl, 1997) containing species of considerable economic significance. Essential oil secretory tissues have been studied in some endemic Australian Myrtaceae including Eucalyptus species (Carr and Carr, 1970), Angophora species (Ladiges, 1984) and Melaleuca alternifolia (List et al., 1995).
The native Lamiaceae have received relatively less attention in the field of essential oil-related research. The genus Prostanthera, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, consists of around 100 species that are endemic to Australia (Conn, 1992). They are collectively known as ‘mint bushes’ and are generally reported to have aromatic foliage (Lassak and McCarthy, 1983). Volatile extracts of relatively few species have been analysed, and there are no publications dealing with secretory structures in the genus, apart from the general observation that oil glands exist on the leaves.
The species P. ovalifolia (purple mint bush) is endemic to the coastal regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland. A comprehensive description of the species’ growth and morphology is available (Conn, 1992). It secretes and accumulates in the leaves an essential oil particularly rich in 1,8-cineole, and containing significant proportions of p-cymene and the sesquiterpene ether cis-dihydroagarofuran (Southwell and Tucker, 1993).
This paper describes the use of several imaging techniques including bright- and dark-field optical microscopy, and scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy, to investigate structural and functional aspects of the essential oil secretory structures of P. ovalifolia. It is usually preferable to study a specimen in its natural state if possible, and this report demonstrates the application of environmental SEM to non-invasive imaging of plant secretory structures.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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We used an Olympus SZH zoom stereomicroscope equipped with a DF-Plan 1·0x objective, with the aperture adjusted to the minimum setting, and an Olympus BH-2 transmitted light microscope with 10x and 40x PlanApo objectives. For photography, both instruments were fitted with a 2·5x projection eyepiece and an Olympus C35AD-4 camera, operated by an Olympus PM-10AD5 automatic photomicrographic system attachment. Images were recorded on 100 ASA print film.
Fluorescence microscopy
Hand-sections were cut from
leaves and mounted in water on glass slides with cover slips, then
examined by fluorescence microscopy. An Olympus BHC light microscope
equipped with a BH2-RFL epifluorescence attachment was used. The
fluorescence attachment contained two filter assemblies designed to
provide specific wavelengths of light from the blue and ultra-violet
regions of the spectrum. The blue light irradiation assembly
consisted of an excitation filter BP-490, dichroic mirror DM-500 and
barrier filter O-515, with an additional excitation filter EY-455 and
two additional barrier filters B-460 and G-520. This combination of
filters produced bright lines at 405 and 435 nm and continuous
spectrum regions near 490 nm. The ultra-violet irradiation assembly
consisted of excitation filter UG-1, dichroic mirror DM-400 and
barrier filters L-420 and L-435, resulting in excitation
wavelengths of 334 and 365 nm.
The light source was an Olympus HBO-100 high pressure mercury lamp, mounted directly onto the fluorescence attachment. The objectives used were Olympus D-PlanApo-10x UV, and D-Plan 40x UV-RiO oil immersion (both fluorescence-free). The microscope was also fitted with 10x eyepieces and a trinocular observation tube incorporating an Olympus C35AD-4 camera and 2·5x projection eyepiece. The sections were examined and photographed using ultra-violet and blue light excitation. Images were recorded on 400 ASA print film, and resulted from autofluorescence of the particular tissues or structures; no stains or fluorochromes of any description were used.
Scanning electron microscopy
Freeze
fracture.
Sections of tissue approx. 10 mm2 were
cut from the leaves. These were frozen and fractured in liquid
nitrogen, then placed in vented 10 ml polypropylene tubes that had
been pre-cooled in liquid nitrogen. The tubes containing the frozen
tissue were transferred to a freeze dryer and dried over a period of
3 d at –50 °C. The dried sections were mounted on SEM
stubs with silver paint and sputter coated with gold. The sections
were examined and photographed with a Jeol JSM-T330 scanning
electron microscope with the accelerating voltage at 15·0
kV.
Environmental SEM.
Entire fresh
leaves were mounted on SEM stubs and imaged in the microscope while
still biologically functional. Examination and photography of the
plant material was performed with an Electroscan environmental SEM
equipped with a Peltier cold stage and an environmental secondary
electron detector. Operating conditions were stage temperature
7·5 °C, chamber pressure 800 Pa and accelerating voltage 10·0
kV.
Transmission electron
microscopy.
Sections of tissue approx. 1 mm2 were
cut from leaves and fixed in a double aldehyde solution (2·0 % w/w
formaldehyde, 2·5 % w/w glutaraldehyde, 0·05 M
sucrose and 2·0 mM CaCl2 in
0·10 M phosphate buffer, pH 6·8) in
separate glass vials, initially under a low vacuum at room
temperature until the tissue was infiltrated with fixative, and then
for a further 12 h at 4·0 °C. After fixation the tissue
was washed three times with phosphate buffer, 15 min per wash.
Sections were post-fixed in 2·5 % w/w OsO4 for 2 h,
followed by a further three x 15
min washes in buffer and a final wash for 15 min in distilled water.
Dehydration was in a water/ethanol series consisting of 5, 10, 20,
30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 % w/w ethanol for 1 h each, followed by
three changes of anhydrous ethanol for 1 h each.
The dehydrated sections were infiltrated with 10, 20, 40, 60 and 80 % w/w Spurr’s resin in anhydrous ethanol for 6 h each, followed by five changes of pure resin for 6 h each. The sections were embedded in flat moulds with fresh resin and polymerized at 70 °C for 24 h. The resin blocks were sectioned with a Reichert Ultracut-E ultramicrotome fitted with a diamond knife. Semi-thin sections of 2 µm were cut first, stained with Toluidine Blue O, examined with a light microscope and photographed. Ultra-thin sections of 60– 75 nm were cut and collected on formvar-coated copper slot grids. The mounted ultra-thin sections were stained, first with 5·0 % w/w uranyl acetate in a 1 : 1 solution of methanol and water for 3 min followed by three x 1 min washes with distilled water, then with Reynolds lead citrate for 2 min followed by another three x 1 min washes with distilled water. After drying, the sections were examined and photographed using a Jeol 1010 transmission electron microscope with the accelerating voltage at 80 kV.
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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A stalk cell of a P. ovalifolia PGT is illustrated in Fig. 3B. The image is of autofluorescence emitted by a PGT as a result of UV light excitation. The stalk cell wall fluoresced an intense blue-white. Fluorescence of this nature, clearly different from that emitted by other tissues, is evidence of the specialized function of the cell. In addition to chlorophyll, which can be observed fluorescing in Fig. 3, cutin and suberin are compounds in which autofluorescence is particularly marked (Rost, 1992). As suggested above, cutinization of cell walls in trichomes can be related to aspects of structural support and to compartmentation of secreted material. This type of fluorescence has been noted in previous studies of secretory idioblasts in Cymbopogon citratus (Poaceae) (Lewinsohn et al., 1998), and was attributed to the presence of cutin in the idioblast cell wall.
The secreted material visible in this image appeared to consist of a mixture of both lipid and aqueous phases. The darker areas in the sub-cuticular space presumably contain mostly water, which does not fluoresce, while most of the fluorescent light would be emitted by terpenoid compounds in the lipid phase, such as p-cymene, and which contain an aromatic ring (Dev et al., 1982), possibly with a contribution from other sources such as flavones (Bosabalidis et al., 1998).
There are two possible explanations for the presence of the aqueous phase in the sub-cuticular space. It could be attributed to the degradation of secretory cells subsequent to maturity, the contents of which have become part of the secreted material in the sub-cuticular space. A contribution to the aqueous phase from other types of secreted materials is also possible, as trichomes in some Lamiaceae are known to secrete compounds such as carbohydrates in solution, in addition to volatile terpenes (Amelunxen et al., 1969; Werker, 1993).
The 16 cells in the secretory head of the trichomes were arranged in a circle. If viewed from directly below the trichome, as in Fig. 6A, each cell represents a sector of the circle, with an arc of approx. 22·5°. Prior to secretion commencing in new trichomes, the cuticle was in contact with the secretory cells. Although not observed directly, it is proposed that when secretion commences, very early in the development of a trichome, the cuticle detaches from the secretory cells, forming the sub-cuticular space in which the secreted material accumulates, as described previously (Werker, 1993). In fully mature trichomes the space had reached its maximum dimensions and the secretory cells often appeared to be lysing (Figs 6B, 7A) or absent (Fig. 2B).
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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