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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls (Lignocellulosic biomass) Part II: Carbohydrates
Published on: March 12, 2010
Extracellular hydrolysis of starch in sugarcane cell suspensions
A Maretzki1, A Dela Cruz, L G Nickell
1Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Experiment Station, Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822.
Abstract:
Evidence is presented for the increased excretion of amylolytic enzymes into a sugarcane cell culture medium when starch was substituted for sucrose as an energy source. The excretion was further enhanced by the inclusion of 1 mum gibberellic acid in the nutrient medium. The growth rate of the cells increased after they became adapted to starch relative to cells grown on sucrose, but the rate of amylolytic enzyme excretion remained unaltered. Amylolytic enzymes in the medium included alpha-amylase but the identity of one or more other enzymes related to starch hydrolysis remains in doubt.
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