Polyunsaturated and Very‐Long‐Chain Fatty Acids Are Involved in the Adaptation of Maloideae (Rosaceae) to Combined Stress in the Mountains

Abstract

One of the mechanisms of plant adaptation to combined stress under conditions of altitudinal zonation is changing the lipid fatty acid (FA) composition. The main changes in the FA composition occurred in the outer cell layers of the pericarp, but not in the parenchyma. Adaptation was found to be species-specific. In Cydonia oblonga MILL. and Malus domestica BORKH., the ratio of polyunsaturated 18:2 and 18:3 lipid FAs changed with increasing height, while a constitutive level of the unsaturation index (UI) and low contents of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) were maintained. Mespilus germanica L. was characterized by a higher level of VLCFAs due to the high content of 20:0. The sum of VLCFAs in medlar increased by up to 16 % with changing altitude, which was accompanied by the changes in the ultrastructure of chloroplasts and a noticeable decrease in the UI. We attribute the differences in the adaptive strategies in C. oblonga, M. domestica and M. germanica to specific structural features of the pericarp peel. Despite different adaptation mechanisms, the studied species can grow equally successfully at the altitudes from 300 to 1200 m. Figure 4. Cross sections of the pericarps of Cydonia oblonga (a), Malus domestica (b) and Mespilus germanica (c). '*' -cuticle; white arrowheads -epidermis; black arrowheads -hypodermis; white arrows -cork; black arrows -phellogen, 'À ' -phelloderm; ' + 'parenchyma. Bar = 20 μm.

Polyphenolic Profile, Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Potential of Medlar (Mespilus germanica L.), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) and Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) Fruit Extracts from Serbia

“…Besides, the study of these fruits from Serbia confirmed that the main volatile compounds in green and ripe fruits were hexanal and (E)-2-hexenal i.e., hexanol and (Z)-3-hexenol, respectively [7]. Among fatty acids, saturated ones, such as hexanoic and hexadecanoic acids, were predominant [7,8], as well as stearic, oleic, linoleic, and behenic acids [8]. The specificity of medlar fruit is that it can be eaten after some period of ripening when it becomes soft and dark.…”

Asplenium scolopendrium Sporophyte Adapts to Winter Conditions by Changing its Lipid Fatty Acid Composition

“…The zones with FAMEs were visualized in UV light (λ = 365 nm). Then, the silica gel from the FAME zone of the chromatographic plate was transferred to a Schott glass filter, and the FAMEs were eluted from the sorbent by washing with C6Н14 six times [49].…”