Tubular epicuticular wax is an important trait for limiting nonstomatal water loss from leaves in several Dianthus species

Cuticular wax plays an important role in plant drought tolerance by limiting non-stomatal water loss and has a diverse micromorphology and composition.However,the contribution of different wax components to limiting non-stomatal water loss remains unclear.We investigated and compared the micromorphology of cuticular wax on the leaves of five Dianthus plants and its role in limiting non-stomatal water loss.Furthermore,we further analyzed the chemical components of the cuticular waxes.Our results showed that cuticular wax crystals on the leaves of five Dianthus plants were mainly composed of irregular platelets or tubular epicuticular wax.The deposition of tubular wax may be related to better limiting non-stomatal water loss than platelets wax in the leaves of five Dianthus plants.Chemical component analysis revealed that the tubular wax was mainly composed of tricosane-2,4-dione.Our study suggests that tubular wax composition is an important trait for limiting nonstomatal water loss in several Dianthus species and contributes to the improvement of drought tolerance in other Dianthus plants.