The anther cuticle of Zea mays

Abstract

The cuticular membrane of the anther of Zea mays is ridged or rugose over most of its surface. The ridges arise during anther development and are confined to the cuticular membrane itself with no coincident folding of the cell wall, although some fibrous wall-like material becomes incorporated within the ridges. The height of a ridge, on mature anthers, is about 0.5 μm and although ridges are aligned, for the most part, in the long axis of the organ, ridges are continuous across cell boundaries in all directions. From transmission electron microscope views we conclude that the cuticle is homogeneous with a thickness of approximately 100 nm. The cuticular layer can be removed from the underlying wall by ZnCl2–HCl hydrolysis. Older anthers yield intact cuticles with persistent ridges. The ridges are not retained by cuticles from young anthers. Chloroform or hexane extraction removes about 30% of the dry weight from isolated cuticles. Characterization of the extract by gas–liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry reveals it is mainly composed of a mixture of odd- and even-numbered straight-chain, saturated hydrocarbons (C25 to C34).