The Future of Primary Cell Wall Research — New Methods

The Future of Primary Cell Wall Research — New Methods 

This review has stressed the need to isolate and chemically characterize the structures of the polymers of primary cell walls. Emphasis must be placed on working with cell wall polymers rather than with polymers obtained from other tissues and organelles. It is also important to obtain polymers from homogeneous preparations of primary cell walls rather than from walls isolated from tissues containing a mixture of wall types. Much of the early work on characterizing cell wall polymers was done with heterogeneous wall preparations. The availability of easily 

Methods have just become available which permit quantitative P-elimination of methylated polysaccharides containing methylated uronosyl residues 25, 88, 89). One of the newly characterized P-elimination methods has been extended for use with polysaccharides substituted with easily removed acetal groups instead of with methyl ether groups (42). Another P-elimination method is available which preserves the identity of the reducing sugar eliminated from the uronosyl residue 9, 20). An example of a reaction sequence using these recently developed methods is illustrated in Fig. 8. This reaction has been successfully used in our laboratory in the study of the pectic polysaccharides of suspension-cultured sycamore cells (45). 

Akiyama, Y., and K. Kato Structure of Hydroxyproline-arabinoside from Tobacco Cells. Agric. Biol. Chem. 41, 79 (1977). 

Albersheim, P. The Primary Cell Wall. In Plant Biochemistry (edited byVarner and Bonner). New York Academic Press. 1976. 

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X. The Future of Primary Cell Wall Research — New Methods. 240... 

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