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Title: DIVERSITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF POLYSACCHARIDE AND GLYCOPROTEIN EPITOPES IN THE CELL WALLS OF BRYOPHYTES: NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE MULTIPLE EVOLUTION OF WATER-CONDUCTING CELLS

Author
item LIGRONE, ROBERTO - UNIV OF NAPOLI
item Vaughn, Kevin
item REZAGLIA, KAREN - SOU ILLINOIS UNIV
item KNOX, J - UNIV OF LEEDS - UK
item DUCKETT, JEFFREY - QUEEN MARY UNIV - UK

Submitted to: New Phytologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2002
Publication Date: 12/8/2002
Citation: Ligrone, R., Vaughn, K.C., Rezaglia, K., Knox, J., Duckett, J. 2002. Diversity in the distribution of polysaccharide and glycoprotein epitopes in the cell walls of bryophytes: new evidence for the multiple evolution of water-conducting cells. New Phytologist 156:491-508.

Interpretive Summary: Many unusual cell wall structures were found in plants treated with herbicides that inhibited cellulose biosynthesis, such as dichlobenil and isoxaben, in previous studies from our laboratory. Because similar oddly formed walls were found in mosses and liverworts, we wondered if the wall structure found in these plants was due to the same alteration as caused by the herbicides. When the composition of these walls were examined using antibodies, it was found that the walls were compositionally similar to those created by herbicide treatment. These studies show that plants have the capacity to make cell walls of unusual composition naturally that mimic the composition of walls of plants treated with herbicides. The importance of these studies is the demonstration that a naturally odd wall formation that appears similar to that induced by herbicides is in fact biochemically similar as well. These data further indicate that plants possess a default pathway for wall production that allows production of a wall despite the absence of the more typical wall components.

Technical Abstract: Bryophyte water conducting cells produce some of the most unusual wall ultrastructures of any plant. In fact, the only similar sorts of wall structures are produced by herbicidal treatment of higher plants with herbicides that inhibit cellulose biosynthesis. To determine if the similar sorts of structural differences were due to similar biochemical changes, we probed thin and semi-thin sections of bryophyte water conducting tissue with a battery of antibodies to polysaccharides and glycoproteins. These data indicated that the same structural changes also were caused by similar changes in wall biochemistry, specifically greatly enhanced amounts of callose, pectin and arabinogalactan proteins.