Abstract
In contrast to homeohydric vascular plants, mosses employ a poikilohydric strategy for surviving in the dry aerial environment. A detailed understanding of the structure, composition, and development of moss cell walls can contribute to our understanding of not only the evolution of overall cell wall complexity, but also the differences that have evolved in response to selection for different survival strategies. The model moss species Physcomitrella patens has a predominantly haploid lifecycle consisting of protonemal filaments that regenerate from protoplasts and enlarge by tip growth, and leafy gametophores composed of cells that enlarge by diffuse growth and differentiate into several different types. Advantages for genetic studies include methods for efficient targeted gene modification and extensive genomic resources. Immuno and affinity cytochemical labeling were used to examine the distribution of polysaccharides and proteins in regenerated protoplasts, protonemal filaments, rhizoids, and sectioned gametophores of P. patens. The cell wall composition of regenerated protoplasts was also characterized by flow cytometry. Crystalline cellulose was abundant in the cell walls of regenerating protoplasts and protonemal cells that developed on media of high osmolarity, whereas homogalactuonan was detected in the walls of protonemal cells that developed on low osmolarity media and not in regenerating protoplasts. Mannan was the major hemicellulose detected in all tissues tested. Arabinogalactan proteins were detected in different cell types by different probes, consistent with structural heterogneity. The results reveal developmental and cell type specific differences in cell wall composition and provide a basis for analyzing cell wall phenotypes in knockout mutants.
Highlights
When compared to vascular plants, mosses employ a fundamentally different strategy for surviving in the dry aerial environment
A detailed understanding of the structure, composition and development of moss cell walls can contribute our understanding of the evolution of overall cell wall complexity, and the differences that have evolved in response to selection for poikilohydric vs. homeohydric survival strategies (Roberts et al, 2012)
To identify the polysaccharide components that are deposited in the course of cell wall regeneration, protoplasts cultured for 24 h in PRML were labeled with antibodies or carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) for fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence quantification by flow cytometry
Summary
When compared to vascular plants, mosses employ a fundamentally different strategy for surviving in the dry aerial environment. Mosses are poikilohydric with aerial surfaces adapted to absorb water from their immediate surroundings and no true vascular tissue (Mishler and Oliver, 2009). Cell walls serve as the boundary between the symplast and the external environment and confer special properties to different cell. The cell walls of vascular plants and mosses have evolved in response to different selective pressures. A detailed understanding of the structure, composition and development of moss cell walls can contribute our understanding of the evolution of overall cell wall complexity, and the differences that have evolved in response to selection for poikilohydric vs homeohydric survival strategies (Roberts et al, 2012)
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