Structure of Plant Cell Walls

Abstract

Considerable information has been obtained about the primary structures of suspension-cultured sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) cell-wall pectic polysaccharides, i.e. rhamnogalacturonan I, rhamnogalacturonan II, and homogalacturonan. However, these polysaccharides, which are solubilized from the walls by endo-alpha-1,4-polygalacturonase, account for only about half of the pectic polysaccharides known to be present in sycamore cell walls. We now report that, after exhaustive treatment with endo-alpha-1,4-polygalacturonase, additional pectic polysaccharides were extracted from sycamore cell walls by treatment with Na(2)CO(3) at 1 and 22 degrees C. These previously uncharacterized polysaccharides accounted for approximately 4% of the cell wall. Based on the glycosyl and glycosyl-linkage compositions and the nature of the products obtained by treating the quantitatively predominant NaCO(3)-extracted polysaccharides with lithium metal dissolved in ethylenediamine, the polysaccharides were found to strongly resemble rhamnogalacturonan I. However, unlike rhamnogalacturonan I that characteristically had equal amounts of 2- and 2,4-linked rhamnosyl residues in its backbone, the polysaccharides extracted in Na(2)CO(3) at 1 degrees C had markedly disparate ratios of 2- to 2,4-linked rhamnosyl residues. We concluded that polysaccharides similar to rhamnogalacturonan I but with different degrees of branching are present in the walls of suspension-cultured sycamore cells.