Etude du metabolisme des xyloglucanes incluant leur apparition, leur biosynthese, leur biodegradation, leur organisation et leur role dans la regulation de la croissance

Xyloglucans in the Primary Cell Wall

8 – Structure and Function of Plant Cell Walls

The purpose of this review is to delineate the ubiquitous and pivotal role of Ca2+ in diverse physiological processes. Emphasis will be given to the role of Ca2+ in stimulus-response coupling. In addition to reviewing the present status of research, our intention is to critically evaluate the existing data and describe the newly developing areas of Ca2+ research in plants.

Calcium messenger system in plants

Isolation and analysis of cell walls from plant material.

Suspensions of cellulose microfibrils from sugar beet pulp

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of plant cell-walls. The cell wall is an envelope that encases the plant cell. The wall must be rigid enough to give the plant strength and form, and yet, if necessary, it must yield freely to facilitate growth. The network of cell walls, where adjoining cells have a wall in common, provides in a plant the structural framework analogous to both the skin and the bones of an animal. In some plants, especially those having woody tissues, the strength of this cell-wall network is prodigious. However, despite their apparently tough sheathing, the cells of the growing regions of a plant are able to extend to many times their initial length. The cell wall lies outside the plasma membrane, which defines the boundaries of the cell itself. The wall is freely permeable to most molecules, but the membrane exhibits selective permeability tending to concentrate certain dissolved molecules and ions inside the cell. The presence of such charged components as acidic polysaccharides within the wall imparts ion-exchange properties to the wall. The chapter discusses the concepts related to the types of cell-wall polysaccharides and elaborates the methods used in the elucidation of primary-wall structure. It also presents an overview of cell-wall glycoproteins.

Ken Brinson

Papers

Plant Cell-Walls