The size and distribution of polysaccharides during their synthesis within the membrane system of maize root cells

1. Maize seedling roots were incubated in vivo with d-[U-14C]glucose for 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 45min. The total incorporation of radioactivity into polysaccharide components in isolated fractions was investigated, and the pattern of incorporation into different polysaccharide components within the rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and exported material was analysed. 2. The membrane compartments reached a saturation value of radioactivity in polysaccharide components by 30min incubation. Radioactivity in exported polysaccharide continued to increase after that time. The latter was formed and maintained by a steady-state turnover of polysaccharide synthesis and transport from the membrane system. 3. If the only access of the slime polysaccharide to the cell surface is via dictyosome-derived vesicles, the amount of slime components in the Golgi apparatus would have to be displaced every 0.3min in order to maintain the observed rates of increase in slime. This is in contrast with a displacement time of about 2.5min that is necessary for polysaccharide components in the Golgi apparatus to produce the observed increase in cell-wall material. The activity of the membrane system in the production of maize root slime is 8 times as great as that of the membrane system involved in cell-wall synthesis. 4. If the amount of polysaccharide material in the Golgi apparatus is maintained only by inflow of polymeric material from the rough endoplasmic reticulum the total amount of slime components in the rough endoplasmic reticulum would have to be displaced every 7min to maintain a constant amount in the Golgi apparatus. If the endoplasmic reticulum contributed directly to the cell surface in the synthesis of cell-wall material, displacement times necessary to maintain the observed rate of polymer production would be very slow.

Download Full-text

The sites of synthesis and transport of extracellular polysaccharides in the root tissues of maize

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj1301133 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 130 (4) ◽

pp. 1133-1145 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Dianna J. Bowles ◽

D. H. Northcote

Keyword(s):

Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Golgi Apparatus ◽

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Secondary Wall ◽

Extracellular Polysaccharide ◽

Membrane System ◽

Maize Root ◽

Extracellular Polysaccharides ◽

Root Tip ◽

Root Cells

1. Subcellular fractionation of maize roots resulted in the isolation of the following enriched fractions: cell wall, dictyosome, smooth-membrane and rough-microsomal fractions. In addition, extracellular polysaccharide of the root slime was isolated. 2. Maizeseedling roots were incubated in vivo with d-[U-14C]glucose, and the pattern of incorporation of radioactivity into the polysaccharides of each fraction was investigated. 3. The differentiation of maize-root cells with respect to the synthesis of specific extracellular polysaccharide directly relates to the polysaccharide synthesized and transported within the membrane system of the cell. A fucose-containing polysaccharide, characteristic only of root slime, was present only in the membrane system of the root-tip region of the root. Regions of typical secondary wall development within the root were characterized by an increased incorporation of radioactivity into xylose of polysaccharide within the membrane system. 4. The incorporation of radioactivity into glucan polymers in the membrane fractions was very low in all regions of the root. Since in regions of secondary wall development greater than 60% of all radioactive incorporation was into a glucan polymer, it can be inferred that this polymer, most probably cellulose, is not synthesized or transported within the compartments of the membrane system. It is suggested that synthesis of cellulose occurs at the surface of the plasmalemma. 5. Maize-root cells contained 40 times more rough endoplasmic reticulum than dictyosome membrane. The relative specific radioactivities of each fraction indicated that polysaccharide was concentrated in the region of the Golgi apparatus, which showed a 100% increase in specific radioactivity compared with the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The Golgi apparatus can thus be regarded as a localized focal point on the synthetic and transport system of polysaccharide by the intracellular membrane compartments.

Download Full-text

The Endoplasmic Reticulum and the Golgi Structures in Maize Root Cells

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.5.3.501 ◽

1959 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 501-506 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

W. Gordon Whaley ◽

Hilton H. Mollenhauer ◽

Joyce E. Kephart

Keyword(s):

Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Cell Wall ◽

Electron Microscope ◽

Nuclear Envelope ◽

Epoxy Resin ◽

Maize Root ◽

Root Tips ◽

Animal Cells ◽

Root Cells ◽

Vesicular Structure

Maize root tips were fixed in potassium permanganate, embedded in epoxy resin, sectioned to show silver interference color, and studied with the electron microscope. All the cells were seen to contain an endoplasmic reticulum and apparently independent Golgi structures. The endoplasmic reticulum is demonstrated as a membrane-bounded, vesicular structure comparable in many aspects to that of several types of animal cells. With the treatment used here the membranes appear smooth surfaced. The endoplasmic reticulum is continuous with the nuclear envelope and, by contact at least, with structures passing through the cell wall. The nuclear envelope is characterized by discontinuities, as previously reported for animal cells. The reticula of adjacent cells seem to be in contact at or through the plasmodesmata. Because of these contacts the endoplasmic reticulum of a given cell appears to be part of an intercellular system. The Golgi structures appear as stacks of platelet-vesicles which apparently may, under certain conditions, produce small vesicles around their edges. Their form changes markedly with development of the cell.

Download Full-text