COPLAnAR: COrrelative investigations of PLAnt cuticle ARchitecture associated to its functionalities – COPLAnAR

Plant cuticles are complex hydrophobic edifices of lipid (cutin, a polyester of hydroxy fatty acids) and carbohydrate polymers (pectin, cellulose). They play a major role in the development of plants and their resistance to environmental stresses, and are now considered as major targets for the breeding of high-quality crops adapted to climate changes. The relationships between the architecture of these polymeric assemblies and their functional properties are still missing. The objective of the COPLANAR project is to decipher the macromolecular architecture of this ubiquitous biocomposite by a 2D and 3D nanoscale correlative approach associated to data mining and image analyses, in relation with cuticle. Using tomato fruit as a model, correlative investigations will benefit from available original mutants affected in the lipid and carbohydrate polymer networks.