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Plant cell wall architecture is revealed by rapid-freezing and deep-etching

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Summary

This paper reports on preliminary investigations into the structure of cell walls of varying complexity as revealed by the rapidfreeze deep-etch technique. Three cell types from different species were examined in order to compare the three-dimensional arrangement of random, polylamellate and helicoidal walls. Each cell type displayed a distinctive level of organisation with respect to the cellulose microfibrils and the matrix material. In polylamellated walls, the microfibrils within each layer were linked to each other by 16–20 nm long side chains regularly spaced along the length of the microfibril. In helicoidal walls, the shifting of the microfibrils could cleary be seen, yet no recognisable structures were observed which could mediate this movement.

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Author notes

  1. B. Satiat-Jeunemaifre

    Present address: Laboratoire des Biomembranes et Surfaces Cellulaires Végétales, C.N.R.S., Ecole Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, F-75230, Paris Cedex 05, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Polytechnic, Oxford

    B. Satiat-Jeunemaifre, B. Martin & C. Hawes

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  1. B. Satiat-Jeunemaifre
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  3. C. Hawes
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Satiat-Jeunemaifre, B., Martin, B. & Hawes, C. Plant cell wall architecture is revealed by rapid-freezing and deep-etching. Protoplasma 167, 33–42 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01353578

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01353578

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