Molecular Modeling of the Structural and Dynamical Properties of Secondary Plant Cell Walls: Influence of Lignin Chemistry

Abstract

A modeling of lignified secondary plant cell walls adapted to grass has been achieved, using molecular dynamics for time up to 180 ns, applied to systems composed of cellulose, xylan, water, and lignin. The overall model, which was 70 nm thick for a volume of 74.4 nm(3), consisted of two crystalline cellulose layers, each being two molecules deep, separated by an interlayer space where the three other components were located. Whereas the cellulose and xylan chemistry was fixed, 18 lignin systems were considered that varied not only in guaiacyl, syringyl, and p-hydroxyphenyl composition, but also in chain length, linkage types, and the presence or absence of coumaryl units. The stabilized models showed a well-defined interface between xylan and cellulose, but some interpenetration of xylan into the lignin part of the models. A survey of the 18 models showed that their lignin component was amorphous and that their density profile was very variable and essentially model dependent. This variability was also reflected in the co-orientation of the lignin phenyl rings with respect to the cellulose surfaces, some systems showing some orientation whereas others did not. The pattern of void distribution accessible to water varied from one system to the next, but the overall void volume was systematically established at around 3%, accepting around 200 water molecules. The estimated mobility of the water molecules interacting with lignin was 1.5 times greater than that interacting with carbohydrates.