Tissue‐specific study across the stem reveals the chemistry and transcriptome dynamics of birch bark

What is it about?

Tree bark is important for plant protection and development. We dissected the stem of silver birch (Betula pendula) into eight major tissue types and characterized the tissues by a combined transcriptomics and metabolomics approach. Our analyses revealed high content of betulin to be the reason for the white color of the birch bark, and further analysis of the genome illustrated the molecular evolution leading towards the this trait. Furthermore, our approach allowed us to compare the two developing tissues in trees, the vascular cambium and phellogen, and identify the shared and differing regulatory components. Integrative analysis of the transcriptional and chemical profiles establishes a molecular framework to answer questions about bark function and development, as well as provides avenues for biotechnology applications.

Featured Image