Cell wall mechanics and growth control in plants: the role of pectins revisited

Peaucelle, Alexis; Braybrook, Siobhan A.; Höfte, Hermanus

doi:10.3389/fpls.2012.00121

Cited by 261 publications

(210 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…A recent study that combined extensometry with atomic force microscopy and different forms of cell wall strain showed that both cellulose microfibrils and matrix polymers, predominantly pectins, bear the tensile load of elastically stretched onion walls (Zhang et al, 2017). This confirms the mechanical significance of the matrix at the molecular scale and adds impetus to recent interest in the state of pectins in growing cell walls and the need for better models of cell wall mechanics (Peaucelle et al, 2012;Xiao et al, 2014;Levesque-Tremblay et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Gradients in Wall Mechanics and Polysaccharides along Growing Inflorescence Stems

et al. 2017

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At early stages of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) flowering, the inflorescence stem undergoes rapid growth, with elongation occurring predominantly in the apical ;4 cm of the stem. We measured the spatial gradients for elongation rate, osmotic pressure, cell wall thickness, and wall mechanical compliances and coupled these macroscopic measurements with molecular-level characterization of the polysaccharide composition, mobility, hydration, and intermolecular interactions of the inflorescence cell wall using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering. Force-extension curves revealed a gradient, from high to low, in the plastic and elastic compliances of cell walls along the elongation zone, but plots of growth rate versus wall compliances were strikingly nonlinear. Neutron-scattering curves showed only subtle changes in wall structure, including a slight increase in cellulose microfibril alignment along the growing stem. In contrast, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectra showed substantial decreases in pectin amount, esterification, branching, hydration, and mobility in an apical-to-basal pattern, while the cellulose content increased modestly. These results suggest that pectin structural changes are connected with increases in pectin-cellulose interaction and reductions in wall compliances along the apical-to-basal gradient in growth rate. These pectin structural changes may lessen the ability of the cell wall to undergo stress relaxation and irreversible expansion (e.g. induced by expansins), thus contributing to the growth kinematics of the growing stem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Gradients in Wall Mechanics and Polysaccharides along Growing Inflorescence Stems

et al. 2017

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“…The proposed mechanisms of PME action in these processes can be summarized as follows: (1) creating an acidic environment within the cell wall as a result of deesterification of pectins, thus promoting cell wall extension or growth, perhaps through the modulation of expansins (see above); (2) facilitating the hydrolysis of polygalacturonic chains by polygalacturonases (Wakabayashi et al, 2003); and (3) promoting the formation of calcium cross linkages (through demethylation of pectins) that ultimately change the state of the pectin matrix by generating free carboxyl groups that are able to bind Ca 2+ (Micheli, 2001;Peaucelle et al, 2012).…”

Section: Pme Activity Plays a Role In Arabidopsis Seed Germinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Demethylesterification of cell wall pectins is mediated by pectin methylesterases (PMEs; EC 3.1.1.11). PME activity thus alters cell walls and, hence, mediates various physiological and biochemical processes in plants, including elongation growth and fruit ripening (for review, see Micheli, 2001;Wolf et al, 2009;Peaucelle et al, 2012). Some of the changes in the biomechanical properties of cell walls resulting from PME action are mediated through an increased susceptibility of homogalacturonans to polygalacturonases (Wakabayashi et al, 2003) and modulation of the activity of cell wall expansins through a decrease in cell wall pH (Moustacas et al, 1991;McQueen-Mason and Cosgrove, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depending on their position in the pectin polysaccharide network, unesterified GalUA residues can form Ca 2+ cross links between the homogalacturonan molecules. The degree and pattern of pectin methylesterification are thus critical for the biomechanical properties of the cell wall, influencing various characteristics such as porosity, permeability, elasticity, and compressibility (Wolf et al, 2009;Peaucelle et al, 2012). Demethylesterification of cell wall pectins is mediated by pectin methylesterases (PMEs; EC 3.1.1.11).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Demethylesterification of Cell Wall Pectins in Arabidopsis Plays a Role in Seed Germination

et al. 2012

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The methylesterification status of cell wall homogalacturonans, mediated through the action of pectin methylesterases (PMEs), influences the biophysical properties of plant cell walls such as elasticity and porosity, important parameters for cell elongation and water uptake. The completion of seed germination requires cell wall extensibility changes in both the radicle itself and in the micropylar tissues surrounding the radicle. In wild-type seeds of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), PME activities peaked around the time of testa rupture but declined just before the completion of germination (endosperm weakening and rupture). We overexpressed an Arabidopsis PME inhibitor to investigate PME involvement in seed germination. Seeds of the resultant lines showed a denser methylesterification status of their cell wall homogalacturonans, but there were no changes in the neutral sugar and uronic acid composition of the cell walls. As compared with wild-type seeds, the PME activities of the overexpressing lines were greatly reduced throughout germination, and the low steady-state levels neither increased nor decreased. The most striking phenotype was a significantly faster rate of germination, which was not connected to altered testa rupture morphology but to alterations of the micropylar endosperm cells, evident by environmental scanning electron microscopy. The transgenic seeds also exhibited an apparent reduced sensitivity to abscisic acid with respect to its inhibitory effects on germination. We speculate that PME activity contributes to the temporal regulation of radicle emergence in endospermic seeds by altering the mechanical properties of the cell walls and thereby the balance between the two opposing forces of radicle elongation and mechanical resistance of the endosperm.

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“…Pectinesterase (PME) was identified as the major protein involved in cell wall metabolism. The demethylation of cell wall pectins is mediated by pectin methylesterases, whose activity alters cell walls and mediates various physiological and biochemical processes in plants, including elongation growth, water uptake, and fruit ripening (Peaucelle, Braybrook, & Hofte, 2012).…”

Section: Protein Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Proteomic analysis of sweet algerian apricot kernels (Prunus armeniaca L.) by combinatorial peptide ligand libraries and LC–MS/MS

et al. 2018

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Cell wall mechanics and growth control in plants: the role of pectins revisited

Cited by 261 publications

References 39 publications

Gradients in Wall Mechanics and Polysaccharides along Growing Inflorescence Stems

Gradients in Wall Mechanics and Polysaccharides along Growing Inflorescence Stems

Demethylesterification of Cell Wall Pectins in Arabidopsis Plays a Role in Seed Germination

Proteomic analysis of sweet algerian apricot kernels (Prunus armeniaca L.) by combinatorial peptide ligand libraries and LC–MS/MS

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