Xyloglucan Endotransglycosylase Activity in Carrot Cell Suspensions during cell Elongation and Somatic Embryogenesis

Xyloglucan endotransglycosylase (XET) has been proposed to contribute to cell elongation through wall loosening. To explore this relationship further, we assayed this enzyme activity in suspensions of carrot (Daucus carota L.) cells exhibiting various rates of cell elongation. In one cell line, elongation was induced by dilution into dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)-free medium. During this elongation, 93% of the XET activity was found in the culture medium; in nonelongating controls, by contrast, 68% was found in the cell extracts even though the specific activity of these extracts was lower than in the elongating cells. By far the highest rates of XET secretion per cell were in the elongating cells. A second cell line was induced to undergo somatic embryogenesis by dilution into 2,4-D-free medium. During the first 6 d, numerous globular embryoids composed of small, isodiametric cells were formed in the absence of cell elongation; extracellular XET activity was almost undetectable, and intracellular specific activity markedly declined. After 6 d, heart, torpedo, and cotyledonary embryoids began to appear (i.e. cell elongation resumed); the intracellular specific activity of XET rose rapidly and >80% of the XET activity accumulated in the medium. Thus, nonexpanding cell suspensions (whether or not they were rapidly dividing) produced and secreted less XET activity than did expanding cells. We propose that a XET molecule has an ephemeral wall-loosening role while it passes through the load-bearing layer of the wall on its way from the protoplast into the culture medium.