Drought Stress Modify Cuticle of Tender Tea Leaf and Mature Leaf for Transpiration Barrier Enhancement Through Common and Distinct Modes

Cuticle is the major transpiration barrier that restricts non-stomatal water loss and is closely associated with plant drought tolerance. Although multiple efforts have been made, it remains controversial what factors shape up the cuticular transpiration barrier. Previously, we found that the cuticle from the tender tea leaf was mainly constituted by very-long-chain-fatty-acids and their derivatives while alicyclic compounds dominate the mature tea leaf cuticle. The presence of two contrasting cuticle within same branch offered a unique system to investigate this question. In this study, tea seedlings were subjected to water deprivation treatment, cuticle structures and wax compositions from the tender leaf and the mature leaf were extensively measured and compared. We found that cuticle wax coverage, thickness, and osmiophilicity were commonly increased from both leaves. New waxes species were specifically induced by drought; the composition of existing waxes was remodeled; the chain length distributions of alkanes, esters, glycols, and terpenoids were altered in complex manners. Drought treatment significantly reduced leaf water loss rates. Wax biosynthesis-related gene expression analysis revealed dynamic expression patterns dependent on leaf maturity and the severity of drought. These data suggested that drought stress-induced structural and compositional cuticular modifications improve cuticle water barrier property. In addition, we demonstrated that cuticle from the tender leaf and the mature leaf were modified through both common and distinct modes.