Structural Polysaccharides In Molecular Architecture of Plant Cell Wallsfrom Algae to Hardwoods

Abstract

AbstractThe structural polysaccharides are a family of polymers of hexoses and pentoses that occur in all plant cell walls. The distinguishing characteristic of these polymers is a β-1,4-linked backbone. The most common among these is cellulose, which is the linear homopolymer of anhydroglucose. These polysaccharides are capable of aggregating into highly ordered structures that are the primary determinants of the mechanical and physical properties of cell walls. An overview of the variations in patterns. of structural-polysaccharide aggregation within cell walls is presented here. Among the majority of the algae cellulose is the dominant structural polysaccharide; thus the habit of aggregation is dominated by the patterns of cellulose. Among primitive plants, other structural polysaccharides represent a larger fraction of cell-wall mass and cellulose is less dominant. In woody tissues of higher plants, structural polysaccharides are the major components of the cell wall, and the patterns of aggregation are again dominated by the characteristic habits of cellulose. Within tile phylogenetic framework, higher levels of morphological development apparently involve greater complexity in the molecular architecture of the cell walls and a finer level of blending of the components of aggregates at the molecular level.