Suberin and its physiological function

Suberin is a biopolyester based on glyceride-phenols and contains two domains, polyaliphatic and polyaromatic. Typical polyaliphatic polyesters include ω-hydroxy fatty acids, α,ω-dicarboxylic acids, fatty acids, and primary alcohols, with ferulic acid being the main component of polyaromatics. Suberin is usually deposited in the cell walls of certain tissues, such as root endodermis, root exodermis, tuber peridermis, seed coats, and other boundary tissue layers of plants to form suberin lamellae. Suberin lamellae serves as a protective barrier in these tissue layers, not only controlling water and nutritional element transport, but also effectively resisting the invasion of pathogens and toxic gas. This review summarizes the distribution, chemical composition, ultrastructure, transmembrane transport, and aggregation assembly of suberin monomers in plants, focuses on the latest research progress on the synthetic pathway of suberin and its function in response to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants, and provides important theoretical references for pasture and crop improvement by changing the adaptive root structure of plants.