Research Article
A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
Received: 19 December 2012; Accepted: 8 June 2013; Published: 28 June 2013
Citation: Mayer JLS, Carmello-Guerreiro SM, Mazzafera P. 2013. A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers. AoB PLANTS 5: plt029;
doi:10.1093/aobpla/plt029
Abstract.
Colleters are protuberances or trichomes that produce and release an exudate that overlays vegetative or
reproductive buds. Colleters have a functional definition, as they are thought to protect young tissues against dehydration and pest attack. Decaffeinated coffee plants, named Decaffitow, have recently been obtained through chemical
mutagenesis, and in addition to the absence of the alkaloid, the flowers of these plants open precociously. Decaffito
mutants exhibit minimal production and secretion of the exudate by the colleters. We compared these mutants with
normal coffee plants to infer the functional role of colleters and the secreted exudate covering flower buds. Decaffito
mutants were obtained by sodium azide mutagenesis of Coffea arabica cv. Catuaı́ seeds. Wild-type plants were used
as controls and are referred to as Catuaı́. The flower colleters were analysed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy in addition to histochemical analysis. Histochemical analysis indicated the presence of heterogeneous
exudate in the secretory cells of the colleters of both variants of coffee trees. Alkaloids were detected in Catuaı́ but
not in Decaffito. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the secretory cells in the Catuaı́ colleters possessed
the normal and common characteristics found in secretory structures. In the secretory cells of the Decaffito colleters,
it was not possible to identify any organelles or even the nucleus, but the cells had a darkened central cytoplasm, indicating that the secretion is produced in low amounts but not released. Our results offer a proof of concept of colleters in
coffee, strongly indicating that the exudate covering the flower parts works as an adhesive to keep the petals together
and the flower closed, which in part helps to avoid dehydration. Additionally, the exudate itself helps to prevent water
loss from the epidermal cells of the petals.
Keywords:
Alkaloids; caffeine; Coffea arabica; colleter; histochemistry; scanning electron microscopy.
Introduction
Colleters have been defined as secretory structures
present in different organs of members of .60 angiosperm families, including Rubiaceae, Loganiaceae and
Apocynaceae (Thomas and Dave 1990; Miguel et al.
2009). Structurally, they can appear as trichomes or as
emergences that are formed from both epidermal and
subepidermal tissues (Foster 1949; Appezzato-da-Gloria
and Estelita 2000; Evert 2007).
Morphology, location and the chemical nature of the
exudate are the criteria used to define the term colleter,
but in fact the functional concept is the common link connecting most reports of this structure (Mayer et al. 2011).
The term colleter originates from the Greek word ‘colla’,
which means glue (Foster 1949). The nature of the sticky
resinous or mucilaginous substance released by the colleters is diverse, and polysaccharides, proteins and lipids
have been described as components (Miguel et al. 2006).
These structures differentiate early, and their function
seems to be to provide physical or chemical defences for
the shoot apex and lateral buds against insect and pathogen attack. However, the occurrence of colleters is not
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Juliana Lischka Sampaio Mayer*, Sandra Maria Carmello-Guerreiro and Paulo Mazzafera
Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil
* Corresponding author’s e-mail address: mjimayer@yahoo.com.br
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
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dormant coffee floral bud from dehydration during the
dry season, as has been suggested for many other plant
species.
Recently, we used sodium azide to mutagenize coffee
seeds, aiming to obtain decaffeinated coffee plants
(P. Mazzafera, unpubl. res.; Borrell 2012). Among the
≏33 000 seedlings analysed, seven were found not to
contain caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) due to a blockade
in the methylation of theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine)
mediated by caffeine synthase (Mazzafera et al. 1994).
These plants were grown in the field for 2 years until they
blossomed, at which point it was observed that, in addition to lacking caffeine, they exhibited precocious flower
opening (see Fig. 1A). The term anthesis will not be used
here because we understand that what happens in Decaffito is not a normal process. Although this process happens
very early during bud development, the buds curiously also
undergo a period of dormancy, i.e. they stop growing
during the dry season and start to swell and increase in
size with the first rains of spring. The flowers are smaller
than normal flowers (Fig. 1B), but they produce viable
pollen. By crossing these mutants with caffeinated plants,
the descendants recover the normal caffeine content.
Normal C. arabica plants have cleistogamy, and therefore
self-pollination is high (Carvalho 1988), an advantage lost
by the decaffeinated mutants as they are more prone to
cross-pollination. Controlled crosses showed that every
time the decaffeinated mutant was obtained, this early
flower opening phenotype was displayed, suggesting a
strong genetic link. These mutants were named Decaffito
(Mazzafera et al. 2009).
Figure 1. (A) Flowers of Decaffito on a branch of a plant in the field
and (B) open flowers of Catuaı́ and Decaffito.
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limited to these plant parts, as they also occur in reproductive organs and seedlings (De-Paula and Oliveira
2007; Mayer et al. 2011). Other reports suggest that colleters and the exudate protect juvenile plant structures
against dehydration because the exudate permeates
and overlays the entire meristem and juvenile organs
(Thomas and Dave 1989; Thomas et al. 1989; Klein et al.
2004). Appezzato-da-Gloria and Estelita (2000) argued
that the exudate prevents water loss in hot tropical climates. In addition to dehydration protection, it has also
been suggested that by covering the shoot apex meristem,
the exudate may act as a physical barrier (Miguel et al.
2010). It is important to supplement morphological, structural and developmental data with information on the
secretory product from histochemical tests or chemical
analysis to construct an association between the definition of colleter and its functionality (Radford et al. 1974).
Although the alleged role of the colleter and its exudate
is to protect plant parts against water loss and attack by
insects and pathogens, only indirect evidence of this role
has been obtained. Only a few reports have analysed the
composition of the resinous material and have suggested
such a role (Miguel et al. 2006 and references therein).
According to Miguel et al. (2006), who demonstrated an in
vitro fungicide property (spore germination) of the exudate
from the colleters of Bathysa nicholsonii K. Schum. (Rubiaceae), the exudate protects the shoot apical meristem
against pathogen attack. Another function attributed to
the exudate from colleters is related to nutritional aspects
regarding bacterial leaf nodule symbiosis with the Rubiaceae species (Horner and Lersten 1968; Lersten 1975).
The colleters in the stipules of Coffea arabica (Patel and
Zaveri 1975) are classified as ‘standard type’ (Lersten
1974a, b). This type of colleter is formed by a secretory epidermis and the central axis of parenchyma cells, without
vascular tissue. The origin of this type of colleter involves
the protoderm and the ground meristem, as described
for the colleters of Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Paiva and
Machado 2006a).
Under Brazilian climate conditions, coffee (C. arabica)
floral buds start to differentiate from axillary buds in
January at the leaf axils that pre-formed in August of
the previous year (Majerowicz and Söndahl 2005).
During the shorter days of April, the induction of the existing leaf buds to flower buds intensifies. Once they have
developed into mature buds, they become dormant.
Dormancy coincides with the start of the dry season,
and as soon as the first rains of spring begin, flowering is triggered and anthesis occurs (Camargo and
Camargo 2001). During development, coffee buds/
flowers are covered by a viscous exudate of unknown
composition. The functional role of this secretion has
never been proved, but it is argued that it protects the
Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
Methods
Botanical materials
Coffea arabica cv. Catuaı́ Vermelho and cv. Decaffito were
used in this study. The plants were grown in the experimental field of the Department of Plant Biology of the
State University of Campinas, Campinas-SP, Brazil. Catuaı́
is a commercial cultivar and contains ≏1.2 % caffeine on
a dry weight (DW) basis in its fruits (Guerreiro Filho and
Mazzafera 2003) and 0.8 % DW in its leaves (Guerreiro
Filho and Mazzafera 2000).
Decaffito mutants were obtained by treating Catuaı́
Vermelho seeds with sodium azide (0.003 or 0.01 % in
200 mM sodium phosphate pH 3, 48 h) and then germinating them in a sand bed. Approximately 33 000 plants
were analysed for caffeine in the leaves using highperformance liquid chromatography, and seven were
found to be almost devoid of caffeine. These plants were
then transferred to field conditions (P. Mazzafera, unpubl.
res.; Borrell 2012). Samples of the flower buds and
flowers at different developmental stages were collected
from these plants and used in our studies.
Light microscopy
Samples were fixed under vacuum as described by Karnovsky (1965; modified by preparation in phosphate
buffer pH 7.2) for 24 h and dehydrated in an ethanol
series (10, 30, 50 and 70 %) and then in a tert-butyl
alcohol (TBA) series (70, 85, 95 and 100 %) (Johansen
1940) for 48 h in each solution. The last dehydration in
100 % TBA was repeated three times. A three-fourths
volume of solid Paraplast X-traw (Fisher) was added to
the samples in 100 % TBA, and the mixture was maintained at 58 8C. The Paraplast was changed three times,
every 12 h. The samples were placed on moulds to solidify,
and serial sections (5 mm thick) were cut on a rotary microtome (Leica) and distended in heated plates at 48 8C. The
Paraplast was removed by immersion of the slides in
xylene, and the sections were subsequently rehydrated
in absolute ethanol followed by distilled water. The
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sections were stained with safranin and astra-blue
(Gerlach 1969) and mounted in Entellanw synthetic resin
(Merck). Photomicrographs were taken with an Olympus
BX 51 photomicroscope equipped with an Olympus DP71
camera.
Histochemistry
Samples were fixed, dehydrated and embedded as
described above. The chemical nature of the substances
found in the secretory cells of the colleters and the
exudate was determined using the following histochemical tests: periodic acid– Schiff’s reaction for 1,2-glycol
groups present in polysaccharides (McManus 1948); ruthenium red for acid polysaccharides and pectic substances
(Johansen 1940); Wagner’s reagent for alkaloids
(Wagner et al. 1984); aniline blue black (Fisher 1968) to
identify proteins; and Sudan black B (Pearse 1985) and
Nile blue (Cain 1947) for neutral (stained pink) and
acidic (stained blue) lipids to identify the aliphatic compounds. Standard control procedures were performed
simultaneously.
Scanning electron microscopy
Samples were fixed as described by Karnovsky (1965;
modified by preparation in phosphate buffer pH 7.2) for
24 h, dehydrated in a graded ethanol series and subjected
to critical point drying with CO2 (Horridge and Tamm
1969). The samples were attached to aluminium stubs
and coated with gold (30 –40 nm). Finally, the samples
were examined under a LEO model VP 435 scanning electron microscope at 20 kV.
Transmission electron microscopy
Samples of bract with colleters were fixed by Karnovsky’s
method (Karnovsky 1965; modified by preparation in
phosphate buffer pH 7.2), post-fixed in 1 % osmium tetroxide (0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 7.2) for 2 h, dehydrated by
an acetone series and embedded in Araldite resin (Roland
1978; Silva and Machado 1999). Ultrathin sections were
contrasted with uranyl acetate and lead citrate (Roland
1978) and examined under a Philips EM 100 transmission
electron microscope at 60 kV.
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Here, we report that the flowers of Decaffito open precociously because of the lack of exudate released by colleters. In normal flowers, the viscosity of the exudate
seems to hold the petals together, acting as an adhesive,
and does not allow them to open until they absorb
water, swell and can then overcome the barrier imposed
by the exudate. Furthermore, the exudate seems to
protect against dehydration through the formation of a
thick layer on the young flower buds, which have numerous stomata on the external petal surface. This information is the first direct evidence for a functional role of
colleters and their exudate.
Results
Morphology of the bud flower
The Catuaı́ flower buds had a whitish, thick, viscous
exudate covering the petals at different developmental
stages before flower opening (Figs 2A, C and 3A). Although
the exudate was not visible in fresh samples of Decaffito
flowers (Figs 1A and 2B, D), analysis by scanning electron
microscopy revealed its presence in minimal amounts
(Figs 3B and 4G) when compared with Catuaı́. The lack of
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Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
were not detected in the exudate or inside the secretory
cells of the colleters of Decaffito (Fig. 6C).
The exudate released by the secretory epidermal cells
between the cuticular layer and the wall layers below led
to the formation of large subcuticular spaces in which
the exudate accumulated (Fig. 6H). This accumulation
creates pressure under the cuticle, causing it to rupture
and release the exudate (Figs 3E–G and 6K).
Figure 2. Flower buds of (A and C) Catuaı́ and (B and D) Decaffito.
(A and B) Note the colleters (arrows) and the exudate covering the
petals (*). Scale bars: A and B ¼ 1 mm; C and D ¼ 2 mm.
exudate in Decaffito was observed from the beginning of
the development of the reproductive meristem until the
precocious opening (Figs 1A, B, 4A–F and 5B, C).
The structures responsible for the secretion of the exudates are the colleters, which are positioned on the
adaxial side of the bracts adjacent to the flower buds, as
seen for Catuaı́ (Figs 2A, 3C and 5A, F) and Decaffito
(Figs 2B, 3D, 4H, I and 5B –D). The colleters are long, have
a short peduncle (Figs 3E– G and 4I) and are formed by a
secretory palisade-like epidermis and an axis of nonsecretory parenchyma central cells (Fig. 5D). The secretory
phase of colleters begins at the induction of the reproductive meristem and remains active during the development
of the flower bud.
Histochemistry
Histochemical tests revealed the complex and heterogeneous chemical nature of the exudate detected on the
surface of the flower buds and inside the secretory cells
of the colleters. The exudate is composed of polysaccharides (Fig. 5E –G), pectic substances (Fig. 5H– J), alkaloids
(Fig. 6A and B), proteins (Fig. 6D– F) and lipophilic substances (Fig. 6G –L). The release of the exudate is abundant
in Catuaı́ (Figs 5E, H, I and 6A, B, D, E, G, H, K, L) and scarce in
Decaffito (Figs 5F, G, J and 6F, I, L). As expected, alkaloids
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Catuaı́. The secretory cells of the colleters of this coffee
cultivar have a dense cytoplasm, an evident nucleus,
small vacuoles, vesicles containing lipid-like substances,
several dictyosomes, mitochondria and rough endoplasmic
reticulum (Fig. 7A–E). The plastid matrix is granular with
starch grains (clear bodies), classified as amyloplast
(Fig. 7B and E). Some small vacuoles have an internal membrane system (Fig. 7C). The exudate is clearly heterogeneous
(Fig. 7A, D and G), and it occupies intercellular spaces and the
large subcuticular spaces formed by the separation of the
cell wall from the cuticle. The non-secretory parenchyma
cells of the central axis have a low-density content, and
phenols are present (Fig. 7F). In the secretory cells near
the senescent phase, the small vacuoles fuse, forming a
large vacuole that occupies most of the protoplast interior
(Fig. 7G). The cytoplasm becomes restricted to the periphery
of the cell, and the rough endoplasmic reticulum appears to
be parallel to the plasma membrane (Fig. 7H).
Decaffito. The secretory cells of the colleters of Decaffito
show marked changes compared with Catuaı́ as shown
by the ultrastructural analysis (Fig. 8A –E). Little exudate
is produced, and it seems that it is either not released or
when small amounts are released it is still enough to
lead to the formation of subcuticular and intercellular
spaces (Fig. 8A– C and E). Inside the cell, it is not possible
to identify any organelles or even the nucleus, with only
a darkened central cytoplasm (Fig. 8A and C–E) and a
network of translucent tubule-like structures (Fig. 8C –E)
visible. The non-secretory parenchyma cells of the
central axis have characteristics similar to those of the
Catuaı́ cell, with low-density content, large vacuoles and
a detectable presence of the nucleus and plastids (Fig. 8F).
Discussion
Stipules protect vegetative buds and leaf primordia
(Lubbock 1890; Paiva and Machado 2006a, b), and bracts
protect reproductive structures (Bell 2008). Thus, the presence of colleters in the stipules (Patel and Zaveri 1975) and
bracts of C. arabica reinforces the idea that they may have
a protective role. Colleters occur exclusively on the adaxial
face of bracts (Lersten 1974a) and are positioned above
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Ultrastructure of colleters
Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
and adjacent to the reproductive meristem. The beginning
of the secretory phase occurs prior to the development
of flower organs, and as the flower buds start to develop,
they are already covered by the exudate released from
the colleters.
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Figure 3. Scanning electron micrographs of flower buds and colleters. (A) Overview of the flower bud of Catuaı́: observe the exudate covering the
petals; (B) overview of the flower bud of Decaffito; (C and D) overview of colleters (arrowhead) in the bract; (C) Catuaı́; (D) Decaffito; (E – G) details of
colleters: note the cuticular rupture in the apical portion of the colleter (arrows), exposing the secretory cells and releasing the exudate (*); (E and F)
Catuaı́: note the apical portion of the colleter in detail; (G) Decaffito. Scale bars: A and B ¼ 1 mm; C, D and F ¼ 100 mm; E and G ¼ 20 mm; F
(inset) ¼ 3 mm.
Both coffee plants in this study were grown in Campinas
(SP, Brazil), where it is well established that coffee floral
buds start to differentiate from axillary buds in January
at leaf axils that pre-formed in August of the previous
year. The formation of flower primordia occurs in March/
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Figure 4. Scanning electron micrographs of the flowers of Decaffito. (A – F) Different stages of the flower bud; note the scarce presence of exudate;
(D – F) flower in precocious opening; (G) note the scarce exudate (*) covering the petals; (H) overview of a flower bud, view of the colleter position
(arrows) in the adaxial side of the bract; (I) details of colleters. Scale bars: A –F ¼ 1 mm; G and I ¼ 100 mm; H ¼ 1 mm.
April (Majerowicz and Söndahl 2005). Starting in May, the
temperature and rain precipitation decline and remain
low compared with other months until August/September.
During this winter period, the vegetative growth of the
flower buds ceases, and they remain dormant (Majerowicz
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and Söndahl 2005). The same climatic conditions apply to
Catuaı́ and Decaffito, although the flower buds of the latter
remain dormant, and no growth is observed. Because
Decaffito does not have the presumed protection of the
colleter exudate, the flower buds are exposed to low air
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Figure 5. Longitudinal sections of flower buds. (A, E, H and I) Catuaı́; (B –D, F, G and J) Decaffito. (A and B) Flower bud at the beginning of development; note the extracellular exudate (*) and colleter (arrows); (C) flower in precocious opening, without complete development of the floral
organs; (D) details of the colleter with the secretory palisade epidermis (sp) and the central axis formed by non-secretory parenchyma cells
(ca) in the adaxial side of the bract (br); (E – J) histochemical characterization of the exudates; (E – G) periodic acid– Schiff reaction; (H– J) ruthenium
red. Scale bars: A and B ¼ 500 mm; C and F ¼ 200 mm; D ¼ 100 mm; E, G, H and J ¼ 50 mm; I ¼ 20 mm.
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Figure 6. Histochemical characterization of the exudate of colleters. (A, B, D, E, G, H, J and K) Catuaı́; (C, F, I and L) Decaffito. (A – C) Wagner’s reagent:
note the secretory palisade epidermis (sp) and the extracellular exudate (*); (D – F) aniline blue black; (G– I) Nile blue; note in (H) the cuticle (ct)
displacement and subcuticular space; (J – L) Sudan black B; note in (K) the cuticular rupture in the apical portion of the colleter, releasing the
exudate (*). Scale bars: A, E, F, I and K ¼ 20 mm; B ¼ 10 mm; C, G, H and J ¼ 50 mm; D ¼ 200 mm; L ¼ 100 mm.
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Figure 7. Transmission electron micrographs of Catuaı́ colleters. (A –F) Colleters in the secretory stage; (G and H) colleters close to senescence.
(A) Secretory palisade epidermis (sp): note the dense cytoplasm, large nucleus (n), cuticle (ct) displacement and subcuticular space with
exudate (*) and intercellular space (is); (B, C and E) details showing small vacuoles (v), vacuoles with an inner membrane system (ims), dictyosomes
(d), plastids (p), lipid vesicles (lv), mitochondria (m) and rough endoplasmic reticulum (er); note in (D) the wide subcuticular space with heterogeneous exudate; note in (F) that the non-secretory parenchyma cell axis accumulates phenolic compounds; (G) secretory palisade epidermis close
to senescence: note that the vacuoles increase in size and fuse; (H) the cytoplasm of these secretory cells consists of a thin peripheral layer close to
the cell wall (cw): note the endoplasmic reticulum parallel to the plasma membrane (arrows). Scale bars: A ¼ 5 mm; B ¼ 500 nm; C, E and
H ¼ 1 mm; D ¼ 2 mm, F and G ¼ 10 mm.
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Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
humidity and may dehydrate. We suggest here that the
colleter exudate in coffee also functions to keep the
petals united, acting as an adhesive, by ‘sealing’ the bud.
Once closed, the flowers may be partially protected from
dehydration. In Decaffito, the petals are freed due to the
lack of exudate. They also lose water from the external
surface due to the presence of many stomata (see
Fig. 4G), which may cause differential tension between
the internal and external cell surfaces, forcing the petals
to curve and open precociously (see Fig. 1A) before
flower development is complete and when the flowers
are still dormant. At the beginning of the rainy season, in
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September/October, the dormancy is broken and anthesis
occurs after 10 –12 days of the first rain (Majerowicz and
Söndahl 2005). This is observed for both Catuaı́ and Decaffito, whose flowers are smaller than those of the former,
most likely as a consequence of dehydration stress during
the dry season (Fig. 1B). Thus, considering that Catuaı́ and
Decaffito flowers differ regarding the presence of exudate,
the Decaffito flowers provide functional proof of the role
of colleters in protecting coffee flowers from dehydration
and controlling their opening.
The histochemical evaluation showed that the difference in composition of the exudate of Catuaı́ and Decaffito
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Figure 8. Transmission electron micrographs of Decaffito colleters. (A) Secretory palisade epidermis (sp) in the secretory stage; note the cuticle (ct)
displacement and subcuticular space with exudate (*) and intercellular space (is); (B) details of the cell wall (cw) of secretory cells and exudate;
(C and D) cross-section of the secretory cell: note the completely disorganized cytoplasm; (D) details of the centre of the secretory cell: note
that no intact organelles were observed; only cytoplasm darkening was observed; (E) longitudinal section of the secretory cell: note the
exudate inside (arrows) and outside (*) the cell and vacuoles (v); note in (F) the normal non-secretory parenchyma cell axis for the nucleus (n),
plastids (p) and large vacuole (v). Scale bars: A and F ¼ 10 mm; B and D ¼ 1 mm; C ¼ 2 mm; E ¼ 5 mm.
Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
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stained. The secretion of protein –carbohydrate mucilage
indicates participation of the Golgi complex and amyloplasts as well as the rough endoplasmic reticulum in the
release process (Fahn 1988; Evert 2007). Amyloplasts are
abundant in nectariferous tissue (Fahn 1988). They can
act as organelles for the storage of substances necessary
for the synthesis of the polysaccharide component of the
nectar (Rachmilevitz and Fahn 1973; Nepi et al. 1996).
Epidermal cells of the colleters of Catuaı́ showed normal
and common characteristics of secretory structures, with
an evident nucleus, dense cytoplasm, various dictyosomes and mitochondria. However, the secretory cells of
Decaffito did not show any distinguishable organelles,
not even the nucleus, but only a darkened cytoplasm. In
these cells, the exudate is produced in lower amounts
than in Catuaı́, and it is not secreted.
The exudate produced in Catuaı́ and Decaffito accumulates in subcuticular and intercellular spaces. Paiva and
Machado (2006b) and Appezzato-da-Gloria and Estelita
(2000) argued that such subcuticular spaces are formed
by dissolution of the middle lamella due to enzyme activities along the anticlinal walls of the epithelial cells. Such
processes increase the surface area from which the
exudate is released as well as the space in which it can
accumulate. Rupture of the cuticle by an increase in pressure caused by exudate accumulation in the subcuticular
space has been observed in the colleters of other species
of Rubiaceae (Thomas and Dave 1990), Caryocaraceae
(Paiva and Machado 2006a) and Apocynaceae (Thomas
and Dave 1989), which strongly suggests an absence of
pores in the cuticle to facilitate exudate release.
Like any other secretory structure, colleters senesce
after a secretory phase in which marked anatomical and
ultrastructural alterations occur (Dickinson 2000). In the
colleters of Catuaı́, the main alteration observed with senescence was the state of the cytoplasm, from dense to less
dense, and an enlargement of the vacuole. During the senescing phase of the colleters of B. nicholsonii, the secretory
cells showed a disorganized system of endomembranes,
and it was not possible to distinguish organelles, suggesting programmed cell death (Miguel et al. 2010). We could
not visualize or distinguish any structural organization
inside the secretory cells of the colleters of Decaffito
in any phase. We speculate that such an occurrence
is most likely related to a precocious programmed cell
death process.
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was the absence of alkaloids in the latter, as would be
expected given that Decaffito was selected for low caffeine content after sodium azide mutagenesis. The
marked detection of caffeine in Catuaı́ is in agreement
with chemical analysis, which showed that the caffeine
content in the coffee flowers is among the highest of the
different parts of the coffee tree (Hamidi and Wanner
1964; Raju and Gopal 1979).
The histochemical tests also revealed that the exudate
composition was highly heterogeneous and complex.
Polysaccharides, pectic substances, alkaloids, proteins
and lipophilic substances were detected. Complex polysaccharide polymers of high molecular mass seem to
play a role as an adhesive to aid in seed dispersion by
fixing them to animals and by helping carnivorous plants
to capture insects or to lubricate the root apex and facilitate interaction with microorganisms (Fahn 1988 and
references therein). Additionally, the hydrophilic characteristics of these polymers seem to assist in maintaining
appropriate humidity levels in the meristem and developing organs during dry periods, when soil water content
and air humidity are low and temperatures are high
(Kronestedt-Robards and Robards 1991; Paiva 2009). On
the other hand, the colleter exudate is insoluble in water,
which is most likely related to the lipid-like substances,
produced to prevent water loss (Thomas and Dave 1989).
The Catuaı́ exudate showed intense colouration for lipids.
Kronestedt-Robards and Robards (1991) suggested that
these substances could also inhibit the development of
pathogenic microorganisms. Similarly, Paiva and Machado
(2006a) suggested that proteins found in the exudate of
colleters of C. brasiliense may have an anti-pathogenic
function because they found enzyme activities related to
chitinases and b-1,3-glucanases, which are usually
related to protection against pathogens (Goy et al. 1992;
Giannakis et al. 1998). The presence of protein in the
exudate of colleters has also been related to the protection
of meristems (Klein et al. 2004; Gonzalez and Tarragó 2009)
but without a defined function. Although controversial
(Guerreiro Filho and Mazzafera 2000, 2003), caffeine has
been suggested to protect plants against insect attack
(Nathanson 1984). However, it is noteworthy that at any
time point, the Decaffito flowers were not observed as
more likely to be under attack by insects or microorganisms
than Catuaı́ or any other known C. arabica cultivar or coffee
species containing caffeine (P. Mazzafera, pers. observ.),
which suggests that, at least in coffee, the caffeine in the
exudate from colleters does not have a function related to
pest or pathogen protection.
The exudate covering the Catuaı́ flowers is mainly composed of polysaccharides and pectic compounds, which in
turn seems to explain the presence of numerous dictyosomes in the secretory cells. Proteins were also densely
Conclusions
The Decaffito plants have very low caffeine content in all
tissues, and this characteristic is profoundly associated
with precocious flower opening (Borrell 2012; P. Mazzafera,
unpubl. res.). Similar to natural mutants of C. arabica
& The Authors 2013
11
Mayer et al. — A functional role for the colleters of coffee flowers
Sources of Funding
This work was financially supported by Fundação de
Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP—
grants 2005/59775-5 and 2008/54040-5).
Contributions by the Authors
All the authors contributed to a similar extent overall.
Conflicts of Interest Statement
None declared.
Acknowledgements
P.M. thanks Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientı́fico e Tecnológico (CNPq-Brazil) for a research fellowship.
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