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Immunocytochemical characterization of tension wood: Gelatinous fibers contain more than just cellulose¹

Southern Weed Science Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, P.O. Box 350, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stoneville, Mississippi 38776 USA

ABSTRACT

Gelatinous fibers (G-fibers) are the active component of tension wood. G-fibers are unlike traditional fiber cells in that they possess a thick, nonlignified gelatinous layer (G-layer) internal to the normal secondary cell wall layers. For the past several decades, the G-layer has generally been presumed to be composed nearly entirely of crystalline cellulose, although several reports have appeared that disagreed with this hypothesis. In this report, immunocytochemical techniques were used to investigate the polysaccharide composition of G-fibers in sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua; Hamamelidaceae) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis; Ulmaceae) tension wood. Surprisingly, a number of antibodies that recognize arabinogalactan proteins and RG I-type pectin molecules bound to the G-layer. Because AGPs and pectic mucilages are found in other plant tissues where swelling reactions occur, we propose that these polymers may be the source of the contractile forces that act on the cellulose microfibrils to provide the tension force necessary to bend the tree trunk.

Key Words: arabinogalactan proteins • cell walls • Celtis occidentalis • gelatinous fibers • immunocytochemistry • Liquidambar styraciflua • rhamnogalacturonan I • tension wood

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