Plant pressure sensitive adhesives: similar chemical properties in distantly related plant lineages

Abstract

A mixture of resins based on aliphatic esters and carboxylic acids occurs in distantly related genera Peperomia and Roridula , serving different functions as adhesion in seed dispersal and prey capture. According to mechanical characteristics, adhesive secretions on both leaves of the carnivorous flypaper Roridula gorgonias and epizoochorous fruits of Peperomia polystachya were expected to be similar. The chemical analysis of these adhesives turned out to be challenging because of the limited available mass for analysis. Size exclusion chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were suitable methods for the identification of a mixture of compounds, most appropriately containing natural resins based on aliphatic esters and carboxylic acids. The IR spectra of the Peperomia and Roridula adhesive resemble each other; they correspond to that of a synthetic ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, but slightly differ from that of natural tree resins. Thus, the pressure sensitive adhesive properties of the plant adhesives are chemically proved. Such adhesives seem to appear independently in distantly related plant lineages, habitats, life forms, as well as plant organs, and serve different functions such as prey capture in Roridula and fruit dispersal in Peperomia. However, more detailed chemical analyses still remain challenging because of the small available volume of plant adhesive.

Evolution of Epiphytism and Fruit Traits Act Unevenly on the Diversification of the Species-Rich Genus Peperomia (Piperaceae)

“…The fruits (up to 3.5 mm in size) are small drupes consisting of a thin mesocarp, a stony endocarp and a hard testa ( Johnson, 1900 ; Fisher, 1914 ; Burger, 1971 ). As many Peperomia species show sticky secretions on the fruit surface ( Frenzke et al, 2016 ), epizoochorous dispersal has long been suggested by most (e.g., Dahlstedt, 1900 ; Ridley, 1930 ; Yuncker, 1958 ; Carlquist, 1967 ; Burger, 1971 ; Croat, 1978 ; Melcher et al, 2000 ), but not all authors ( Bradley, 2002 ). Although information on Peperomia dispersing animals is sparse, birds are considered as vectors by Ridley (1930) and Carlquist (1967) .…”

Thermal and Rheological Properties of the Mucilage from the Fruit of Cordia lutea

“…The bands at 2929 cm -1 and at 1723 cm -1 are associated to C-H and C=O stretching vibrations, respectively. The band at 1723 cm -1 in combination with the bands at 3270 cm -1 and 1587 cm -1 could be accounted for carbonyl-bands of carboxylic acids [22]. Carboxylic acids have been found in the fruit of Cordia latifolia [23].…”

Seeing the wood despite the trees: Exploring human disturbance impact on plant diversity, community structure, and standing biomass in fragmented high Andean forests

“…Nonetheless, full‐grown individuals of Weinmannia fagaroides and Polylepis quadrijuga were found in two of the plots of this cluster, together with some young individuals of Podocarpus oleifolia and Berberis glauca abundant in the lower canopy, and a dense cover of mosses and ferns, which suggests that some small “islands” of mature forest elements were able to persist within the disturbed, secondary forest matrix. Understory cluster 3 did not fit any previously described communities either, but the indicator species of this cluster are known to be either dispersed by birds, for example, Monnina aestuans (Romero, 2002) and Nertera granadensis (Vargas‐Ríos, 1997), or by small mammals or birds, for example, in the case of the sticky fruits of Peperomia (Frenzke et al., 2016). Possibly, this cluster represents a successional understory community mainly dispersed by animals, which prosper in previously disturbed areas, as suggested by the high people density within 5 km radius and relatively low mean tree biomass.…”