Increase in the level of arabinoxylan–hydroxycinnamate network in cell walls of wheat coleoptiles grown under continuous hypergravity conditions

Abstract

Changes in the amount and composition of cell wall constituents in response to continuous hypergravity stimuli were studied in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) coleoptiles. The lengths of coleoptiles grown under hypergravity (300 g) conditions for 2–4 days from germination stage were 60–70% of those of 1 g control. However, the net amounts of hemicellulosic polysaccharides and cellulose in hypergravity‐treated coleoptiles increased progressively as much as those in the control coleoptiles. As a result, their contents per unit length of coleoptile largely increased under hypergravity conditions. In the hemicellulose fraction, the amounts of arabinose and xylose, the major components of the fraction, prominently increased in response to hypergravity. When hemicellulosic polysaccharides were separated into neutral and acidic polymers by an anion‐exchange column, the amounts of the acidic fraction consisting of (glucurono)arabinoxylans were higher in hypergravity‐treated coleoptiles than in control coleoptiles. The amounts of cell wall‐bound ferulic acid and diferulic acid (DFA) increased dramatically in both 1 g control and hypergravity‐treated coleoptiles. Particularly, the amounts of DFA in hypergravity‐treated coleoptiles were significantly higher than those in control coleoptiles during the incubation period. These results suggest that continuous hypergravity increases the rigid network structures via arabinoxylan–hydroxycinnamate cross‐links within cell wall architecture in wheat coleoptiles. These structures may have a load‐bearing function and contribute to construct the stable cell wall against the gravitational force.