Summary
The cell wall of the spore ofGlomus epigaeum Daniels and Trappe, which has fibrillar subunits regularly arranged in arcs, was studied ultrastructurally and biochemically.
The periodic acid/thiocarbohydrazide/silver proteinate (PATAg) reaction for polysaccharide location (Thiéry 1967) and the silver methenamine reaction for protein location (Swift 1968) were performed on whole spores, progressively alkaline-extracted and autoclaved spores, and untreated and alkaline-extracted cell wall fractions. The cytochemical results and those obtained from frozen sections indicated that the fibrils forming the main structure of the outer and inner wall consist of chitin. Quantitative determinations showed that chitin is the most important component (47%) of the alkali-insoluble residue and represents 27.2% of the whole cell wall fraction. It occurs predominantly as the acetylated form. Cytochemical and biochemical observations showed that the matrix surrounding the fibrils is made of alkali-soluble, PATAg positive polysaccharides (4.98% of the whole cell wall fraction). Monomers were identified by gas liquid chromatography as being γ-lactone of glucuronic acid, and glucose, rhamnose and mannose. Alkali-soluble proteins are an important part of the matrix, being spread mostly throughout the inner wall and constituting a large portion (55.1 %) of the alkali-soluble fraction.
From the results we derive a model in which the chemical components are interconnected to build up a macromolecular network, in agreement with electron-microscopic observations.
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Bonfante-Fasolo, P., Grippiolo, R. Cytochemical and biochemical observations on the cell wall of the spore ofGlomus epigaeum . Protoplasma 123, 140–151 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01283584
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01283584