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Histochemistry and composition of the cell walls of styles of Nicotiana alata Link et Otto

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Abstract

The cell walls of styles of Nicotiana alata Link et Otto (ornamental tobacco; Solanaceae) were analysed chemically and examined histochemically. Cell-wall preparations were obtained from whole styles and from isolated transmitting-tissue cells. The style epidermal cells were shown histochemically to have thick, lignified secondary walls. These walls probably constituted a large proportion of the cell-wall preparation from whole styles as analysis of whole-style walls indicated that the major polysaccharides were xylans and cellulose, which are typical of lignified secondary walls of Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). Lignification of the style epidermal walls was also demonstrated histochemically in 10 other species (5 genera including Nicotiana) of the sub-family Cestroideae of the Solanaceae, but not in 15 species (9 genera) of the sub-family Solanoideae of the Solanaceae, nor in 3 other species of dicotyledons and 2 species of Liliopsida (monocotyledons). Analysis of the cell-wall preparation from isolated transmitting-tissue cells of N. alata indicated that these contained cellulose, xyloglucans, and pectic polysaccharides, which is typical of primary cell walls of dicotyledons. However, the analysis indicated that the walls also contained an unusually high proportion of Type II arabinogalactans. Staining of the transmitting-tissue cell-wall preparation with β-glucosyl Yariv reagent, a histochemical reagent specific for arabinogalactan proteins, confirmed their presence, which may be related to the role of these cells in secreting the stylar extracellular matrix.

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Abbreviations

Ara:

l-arabinose

AGP:

arabinogalactan protein

Gal:

d-galactose

Glc:

d-glucose

Man:

d-mannose

Rha:

l-rhamnose

TFA:

trifluoroacetic acid

UV:

ultraviolet

Xyl:

d-xylose

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Author notes

  1. Philip J. Harris

    Present address: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Cell Biology Research Centre, School of Botany, University of Melbourne, 3052, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Alison M. Gane, Jodie A. Weinhandl, Antony Bacic & Philip J. Harris

Authors
  1. Alison M. Gane
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  2. Jodie A. Weinhandl
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  3. Antony Bacic
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  4. Philip J. Harris
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antony Bacic.

Additional information

This research was supported by funds from a Special Research Centre of the Australian Research Council. A.G. was funded by an Australian Postgraduate Research Award. We thank Dr. P. Strike, CSIRO Division of Biomolecular Engineering, Parkville, for the amino-acid analyses; Bruce McGinness and Susan Mau for growing the plants; Karen Wilson for identification of plant material; and Drs. Ian Sims and Stephen Read for their thoughtful review of the manuscript.

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Gane, A.M., Weinhandl, J.A., Bacic, A. et al. Histochemistry and composition of the cell walls of styles of Nicotiana alata Link et Otto. Planta 195, 217–225 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00199682

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