Abstract
The interactions of cellulose with other major plant cell wall polysaccharides - arabinoxylan (AX), xyloglucan (XG) and mixed linkage glucans (MLG) - have been investigated by characterising the architecture of composite deuterated cellulose hydrogels by means of SAXS and SANS, combined with XRD, NMR and microscopy. The results indicate that cellulose-AX interactions, limited to the ribbons' surface, take place via a non-specific adsorption mechanism. In contrast, XG and MLG interact specifically with cellulose, forming two different fractions: (i) interfibrillar domains interacting with the cellulose microfibrils and (ii) surface domains, responsible for the cross-linking of ribbons. XG co-crystallises with cellulose, promoting the formation of Iβ-richer microfibrils and forming intercalated amorphous regions. On the other hand, MLG interacts with cellulose forming a paracrystalline coating layer. This structural role of XG and MLG in preventing microfibril aggregation may help explain their key function in the cell expansion process of growing plant tissues.
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