Detection of β-1-4-galactan in compression wood of Sitka spruce [Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière] by immunofluorescence

Abstract

Abstract β-1-4-Galactan has been detected in Sitka spruce [Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière] by an immunofluorescence procedure. The anti-β-1-4-galactan monoclonal antibody LM5 was found to bind to compression wood (CW) tissue as identified by cell morphology features. In cross-sections, year rings with very fine bands of galactan-containing tissue were found. Cells in these bands expressed no morphological CW features. This finding was interpreted to imply that β-1-4-galactan synthesis is one of the first physiological reactions of CW formation. In cases where the CW character was pronounced, galactan was exclusively located in the outer cell-wall layers and was absent from the majority of the inner S2 layer.