Changes in the hemicellulosic polysaccharides of Avena coleoptile cell walls during growth of intact seedlings

Abstract

The variations taking place in the major polysaccharides of the cell wall of Avena sativa L. cv. Victory coleoptiles were studied during growth. Two fractions were obtained, one corresponding to cellulose and the other to the hemicelluloses. The relative content of cellulose was greater in the basal regions of the coleoptiles and the proportion of this polysaccharide fraction increased in all regions during growth. The hemicellulosic fraction was composed of two parts, an insoluble one designated the HC A hemicellulosic fraction, whose main component was seen to be an insoluble xyloglucan, and a soluble part designated the HC B hemicellulosic fraction, composed of an arabinoxylan and a (β1-3)- or (β1-4)-glucan. This latter was degraded during the growth of the coleoptiles. The average molecular weight of hemicelluloses HC A and HC B decreased from the sub-apical zones to the basal zones of the coleoptiles; this was related to the growth capacity of each of the regions into which the coleoptiles were divided.