Evolution of the cell wall components during terrestrialization

Abstract

Colonization of terrestrial ecosystems by the first land plants, and their subsequent expansion and diversification, were crucial for the life on the Earth. However, our understanding of these processes is still relatively poor. Recent intensification of studies on various plant organisms have identified the plant cell walls are those structures, which played a key role in adaptive processes during the evolution of land plants. Cell wall as a structure protecting protoplasts and showing a high structural plasticity was one of the primary subjects to changes, giving plants the new properties and capabilities, which undoubtedly contributed to the evolutionary success of land plants.In this paper, the current state of knowledge about some main components of the cell walls (cellulose, hemicelluloses, pectins and lignins) and their evolutionary alterations, as preadaptive features for the land colonization and the plant taxa diversification, is summarized. Some aspects related to the biosynthesis and modification of the cell wall components, with particular emphasis on the mechanism of transglycosylation, are also discussed. In addition, new surprising discoveries related to the composition of various cell walls, which change how we perceive their evolution, are presented, such as the presence of lignin in red algae or MLG (1→3),(1→4)-β-D-glucan in horsetails. Currently, several new and promising projects, regarding the cell wall, have started, deciphering its structure, composition and metabolism in the evolutionary context. That additional information will allow us to better understand the processes leading to the terrestrialization and the evolution of extant land plants.

Reciprocal Interactions between Cadmium-Induced Cell Wall Responses and Oxidative Stress in Plants

“…However, the number of studies focusing on cell wall-related responses to Cd exposure is scarce ( Parrotta et al, 2015 ). The cell wall is often considered as a rigid, unchanging structure, but it is currently proven to be a dynamic construction with exceptional strength, while its flexibility is still preserved ( Banasiak, 2014 ). The role of the cell wall in plant responses to trace metal exposure was reviewed by Krzesłowska (2011) .…”

Cryo-Electron tomography 3D structure and nanoscale model of Arabidopsis thaliana cell wall

“…The current model of plant cell walls portrays a framework of ~3.5 nm thick cellulose microfibrils, interconnected by single-strand hemicellulose thus forming a rather loose 3D “long-tether” network, with hemicellulose adhering to significant stretches of the microfibrils (7-14). Other prominent cell wall components, pectins are predominantly found in the middle lamella (ML) adhering two adjacent cells (15), whereas phenolic lignin polymers are thought to form a hydrophobic matrix in between the cellulose-hemicellulose network (15, 16). The most commonly discussed cell wall model has microfibrils alternating between two sharply distinct orientations, not unlike textile fabric (3, 7, 11), however alternative models have been proposed (1-2, 17-19).…”

Linear relationships between shoot magnesium and calcium concentrations among angiosperm species are associated with cell wall chemistry

“…Although there are many different pectin structures (Ridley et al, 2001;Sénéchal et al, 2014;Daher and Braybrook, 2015;Park and Cosgrove, 2015;Anderson, 2016;Bidhendi and Geitmann, 2016) and pectin content can differ between and within tissues, change with development and respond to both abiotic and biotic challenges (Popper et al, 2011;Sénéchal et al, 2014;Daher and Braybrook, 2015;LeGall et al, 2015;Park and Cosgrove, 2015;Anderson, 2016), the cell walls of eudicots and non-commelinid monocots generally have similar pectin contents, and both have more pectin than cell walls of commelinid monocots ( Fig. 2; Jarvis et al, 1988;Harris et al, 1997;Smith and Harris, 1999;Popper et al, 2011;Banasiak, 2015). The cell walls of eudicots excluding Caryophyllales, Caryophyllales, non-commelinid monocots and commelinid monocots also differ in other cell wall properties ( ).…”

“…The cell walls of eudicots excluding Caryophyllales, Caryophyllales, non-commelinid monocots and commelinid monocots also differ in other cell wall properties ( ). In particular, non-commelind monocots generally contain greater amounts of xyloglucans, mixed linkage glucans and ester-related p-coumaric acids than eudicots and noncommelinid monocots (Banasiak, 2015;Hatfield et al, 2017), and the hemicelluloses of non-commelinid monocots and the rhamnogalacturonan-I pectins of Caryophyllales can be covalently cross-linked by feruoylation (Ridley et al, 2001;Harris and Tretheway, 2010;Hatfield et al, 2017). It has been speculated that the CEC of cell walls might influence free Ca 2+ concentrations in the apoplast and, thereby, cell signalling (Hepler and Winship, 2010), but there is, as yet, no direct evidence that cell wall CEC affects Ca 2+ signalling across the plasma membrane of mature plant cells.…”