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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Characterizing Mechanical Properties of Primary Cell Wall in Living Plant Organs Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: May 18, 2022
Changes in cell wall composition associated with maturation in the gymnosperm Araucaria angustifolia
Renato Bochicchio1, Carmen L O Petkowicz, Iedo Alquini
1Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Paraná, C.P. 19046, CEP 81531-990, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
Abstract:
A general structural characterization and an investigation on the dynamics of formation of cell wall polysaccharides was performed, using plantlets stem samples from a typical gymnosperm from southern Brazil, Araucaria angustifolia, as experimental model. Microscopic examination and monosaccharide composition of plantlet segments at different heights were carried out to show the representative portions of stem cell wall development. The plantlets were divided in portions (tip, middle and base) which were submitted to sequential extractions. The extraction with water gave rise to large amounts of pectic material in the three portions and more highly substituted pectins occurred in the tip portion of the stems. Increase in alkali concentration extracted, respectively, higher amounts of xyloglucan structurally similar to those from dicotyledons. However, oligosaccharides containing galactose and fucose where found in higher amounts in base than tip portion. The changes in cell wall composition suggest that the development in gymnosperm cell walls follow the same key events as found in dicotyledon walls (type I).
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