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Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Fluorescent Immunolocalization of Arabinogalactan Proteins and Pectins in the Cell Wall of Plant Tissues
Published on: February 27, 2021
Working towards arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) from fruit: carbohydrate composition and impact on fungal growth
Agata Leszczuk1, Adrian Zając2, Justyna Cybulska3
1Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290, Lublin, Poland. a.leszczuk@ipan.lublin.pl.
Background:
Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) are extracellular matrix constituents involved in plant response to fungal infection. The aim of the current study was to investigate the antifungal effect of AGPs ex situ and to determine the structural features of AGPs that may have an influence on this activity. The features of AGPs isolated from fruit were investigated with molecular tools based on specific monoclonal antibodies recognizing carbohydrate AGP epitopes. The Antifungal (well-diffusion) Susceptibility Test and the Agar Invasion Test were used to assess the impact of AGPs on Penicillium notatum culture.
Results:
The results definitely ruled out the influence of AGPs on fungal growth. The immunochemical analyses revealed that AGPs consist mainly of carbohydrate chains composed of β-linked glucuronosyl residues recognized by LM2 and GlcA-β(1 → 3)-GalA-α(1 → 2) Rha recognized by JIM13, which do not have the same functional properties outside the plant cell in in vitro experimental conditions.
Conclusions:
The action of a single cell wall component does not elicit any influence ex situ. The extensive accumulation of glycan chains of AGPs in infected tissue as a result of a complex mechanism occurring in the cell wall emphasizes the importance of dependencies between particular components of the extracellular matrix in response to fungal attack.
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