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Updated: Sep 28, 2025

Preparation of Fungal and Plant Materials for Structural Elucidation Using Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Solid-State NMR
Published on: February 12, 2019
Structure of In Vitro-Synthesized Cellulose Fibrils Viewed by Cryo-Electron Tomography and 13C Natural-Abundance
Fabien Deligey1, Mark A Frank2, Sung Hyun Cho2
1Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, United States.
Abstract:
Cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer, is a central source for renewable energy and functionalized materials. In vitro synthesis of cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) has become possible using purified cellulose synthase (CESA) isoforms from Physcomitrium patens and hybrid aspen. The exact nature of these in vitro fibrils remains unknown. Here, we characterize in vitro-synthesized fibers made by CESAs present in membrane fractions of P. patens over-expressing CESA5 by cryo-electron tomography and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) solid-state NMR. DNP enabled measuring two-dimensional 13C-13C correlation spectra without isotope-labeling of the fibers. Results show structural similarity between in vitro fibrils and native CMF in plant cell walls. Intensity quantifications agree with the 18-chain structural model for plant CMF and indicate limited fibrillar bundling. The in vitro system thus reveals insights into cell wall synthesis and may contribute to novel cellulosic materials. The integrated DNP and cryo-electron tomography methods are also applicable to structural studies of other carbohydrate-based biomaterials.
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