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Environmental and Stress Physiology

Cell Walls of Tobacco Cells and Changes in Composition Associated with Reduced Growth upon Adaptation to Water and Saline Stress ¹

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, Department of Horticulture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907

The relative mass of the cell walls of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cells adapted to grow in medium containing 30% polyethylene glycol 8000 or 428 millimolar NaCl was reduced to about 50% of that of the walls of unadapted cells. Cellulose synthesis was inhibited substantially in adapted cells. The proportions of total pectin in walls of unadapted and adapted cells were about the same, but substantial amount of uronic acid-rich material from walls of cells adapted to either NaCl or polyethylene glycol was more easily extracted with cold sodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid solutions (NM Iraki et al. [1989] Plant Physiol. 91: 39-47). We examined the linkage composition of the pectic and hemicellulosic polysaccharides to ascertain chemical factors that may explain this difference in physical behavior. Adaptation to stress resulted in the formation of a loosely bound shell of polygalacturonic acid and rhamnogalacturonan. Pectins extracted from walls of adapted cells by either cold sodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid or hot ammonium oxalate were particularly enriched in rhamnose. Compared to pectins of unadapted cells, rhamnosyl units of the rhamnogalacturonans of adapted cells were more highly substituted with polymers containing arabinose and galactose, but the side groups were of greatly reduced molecular size. Possible functional roles of these modifications in cell wall metabolism related to adaptation to osmotic stress are discussed.

³ Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Common Wealth University, Richmond, VA 23284.

¹ This research was supported by grant US-535-82 from the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD) and a fellowship from America-Mideast Educational and Training Foundation to N. M. I. Journal paper No. 11,734 of the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station.

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