Cellulose in algal cell wall : an “in situ” localization

Abstract

In order to ascertain the presence and the in muro localization of cellulose, the enzyme-gold affinity test was applied to algal cell walls. The high specificity of affinity cytochemistry allowed us, by using the enzyme cellulase, to confirm the available biochemical data and to give a map of the cellulose localization in different algal groups. Taking into account the complex skeletal polysaccharide structure and composition of the algal cell walls, this method proved to be a reliable tool in this field

Beyond the Green: Understanding the Evolutionary Puzzle of Plant and Algal Cell Walls

“…The arrows indicate secondary endosymbiosis events involving green algae, which gave rise to the Euglenozoa (dotted arrow), and red algae, which gave rise to the Stramenopiles (dashed arrow; Keeling, 2004). Baldan et al (2001), Kloareg and Quatrano (1988), and Naylor and Russell-Wells (1934 (Schultz et al, 2000) and detection using radial gel permeation (Van Holst and Clarke, 1985;Z.A. Popper, Q. Coster, and T. Slattery, unpublished data).…”

The year of encroaching genomics

“…Both those techniques provided a useful aid to elucidate the role of top1 genes during cell proliferation and differentiation events. A comparison between two techniques allowing the localization of cellulose within the algal cell wall was performed by Baldan's group (Baldan et al, 2001). In this study of electron microscopy the use of periodic acid-thiosemicarbazide-silver proteinate (PATAg), an ultrastructural cytochemical test routinely adopted, was associated with the enzyme-gold labelling test that uses the cellulase enzyme complex as a cytochemical probe for the localization of cellulose.…”

Histochemistry: work in progress

“…The last paper of this series of representative models of modern plant biology shows an interesting double histotopochemical approach to the problem of localizing cellulose in some algal cell groups (Baldan et al, 2001). The ultrastructural techniques provide a comparison between the pictures obtained with a classical reagent for polysaccharides (the periodic acid thiosemicarbazide-silver proteinate), and an enzyme-gold labelling test, where the cellulase-enzyme complex is used as a marker of the intratissutal distribution of cellulose.…”