Studies on forage cell walls: 5. Alkali-treated lucerne

1976 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Mathews ◽  
W. R. McManus

SummaryGround lucerne was treated with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) in a ‘dry crystal’ process, prior to pelleting.Data for feed characteristics and related utilization by sheep fed these diets are reported. NaOH and KOH had effects of different magnitude on the digestibility of cell-wall constituents (CWC). An increase of nitrogen (N) in the cell wall (CWN) induced by tha alkali treatments, resulted in depressed nitrogen digestibility. The residual alkali and high electrolyte intakes produced higher rumen pH, but values were more stable than for sheep fed the control diet.

1971 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. Buck ◽  
M. A. Obaidah

1. The cell wall of Fusicoccum amygdali consisted of polysaccharides (85%), protein (4–6%), lipid (5%) and phosphorus (0.1%). 2. The main carbohydrate constituent was d-glucose; smaller amounts of d-glucosamine, d-galactose, d-mannose, l-rhamnose, xylose and arabinose were also identified, and 16 common amino acids were detected. 3. Chitin, which accounted for most of the cell-wall glucosamine, was isolated in an undegraded form by an enzymic method. Chitosan was not detected, but traces of glucosamine were found in alkali-soluble and water-soluble fractions. 4. Cell walls were stained dark blue by iodine and were attacked by α-amylase, with liberation of glucose, maltose and maltotriose, indicating the existence of chains of α-(1→4)-linked glucopyranose residues. 5. Glucose and gentiobiose were liberated from cell walls by the action of an exo-β-(1→3)-glucanase, giving evidence for both β-(1→3)- and β-(1→6)-glucopyranose linkages. 6. Incubation of cell walls with Helix pomatia digestive enzymes released glucose, N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and a non-diffusible fraction, containing most of the cell-wall galactose, mannose and rhamnose. Part of this fraction was released by incubating cell walls with Pronase; acid hydrolysis yielded galactose 6-phosphate and small amounts of mannose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate as well as other materials. Extracellular polysaccharides of a similar nature were isolated and may be formed by the action of lytic enzymes on the cell wall. 7. About 30% of the cell wall was resistant to the action of the H. pomatia digestive enzymes; the resistant fraction was shown to be a predominantly α-(1→3)-glucan. 8. Fractionation of the cell-wall complex with 1m-sodium hydroxide gave three principal glucan fractions: fraction BB had [α]D +236° (in 1m-sodium hydroxide) and showed two components on sedimentation analysis; fraction AA2 had [α]D −71° (in 1m-sodium hydroxide) and contained predominantly β-linkages; fraction AA1 had [α]D +40° (in 1m-sodium hydroxide) and may contain both α- and β-linkages.


1968 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Phethean ◽  
L. Jervis ◽  
Mary Hallaway

A method for isolating extensively purified cell walls from higher plants is described; the preparations contain no detectable chloroplast or nuclear material and the protein content (2–5% of the dry wt. of walls) indicates that there is little contamination with cytoplasm. Incubation of purified cell walls with 0·3n-potassium hydroxide for 17hr. at 37° liberates ribonucleotides, which can be purified by adsorption on charcoal and by ion-exchange chromatography. Ribonucleotides are also liberated by incubating the walls with ribonuclease, but not with deoxyribonuclease. The RNA content varies from 0·5 to 6mg./g. dry wt. of walls, depending on the nature and age of the tissue, and at 3mg./g. dry wt. of walls accounts for about 7% of the total RNA of the tissue. Less than 0·2% of the RNA of the walls is due to the presence of bacteria in the preparation. The base composition of the cell-wall RNA is identical with that of ribosomal RNA.


1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 782-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
N L Pearlmutter ◽  
C A Lembi

Chitin was visualized in cell walls after hydrolysis with potassium hydroxide and subsequent postfixation of the deacetylated polysaccharide (chitosan) in OsO4. Areas of chitin deposition appeared dark borwn by light microscopy and electron dense in the electron microscope. With this method, the presence of chitin was demonstrated in the cell walls of the green alga Pithophora oedogonia (Montagne) Wittrock and two fungi, Ceratocystis ulmi Buism. (C. Moreau) and Blastocladiella emersonii Cantino and Hyatt. Most of the chitin in P. oedogonia ws found in the crosswall disk and small amounts occurred in the outer longitudinal walls. The septal disk of C. ulmi also contained chitin, but significant amounts were present in the inner and outer regions of longitudinal walls as well. Chitin was present throughout the walls of B. emersonii. Small amounts of chitin were not easily demonstrated by this technique, but removal of chitosan by exposure to dilute acetic acid before osmium fixation disrupted cell wall integrity, suggesting that small amounts of the structural polysaccharide had been removed.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Bogaert ◽  
L. Gomez ◽  
J. P. Jouany

The effect of lasalocid and cationomycin on plant cell wall digestion was tested in a Latin square design experiment over three periods on six adult sheep fed three diets: a control diet (T) without antibiotics, a diet (L) with 33 mg kg−1 of lasalocid, and a diet (C) with 33 mg kg−1 of cationomycin. The dry matter and plant cell wall digestibilities were not affected by the addition of antibiotics. The digestive flow measurements at the duodenum showed that the antibiotic had no effect on the apparent digestion of dry matter, organic matter and plant cell walls along the digestive tract. This was confirmed by the in sacco feed and pure cellulose rumen degradation measurements. Lasalocid, however, decreased the true digestion of feed dry matter in the rumen, as shown by the duodenal flow measurements after being corrected for microbial dry matter. Compared with the control diet, diets (L) and (C) increased the propionate percentage in the rumen VFA mixture (T = 14.9, L = 19.4, C = 18.9) and decreased acetate (T = 66.1, L = 63.8, C = 65.7) and butyrate (T = 14.1, L = 12.7, C = 11.7) percentages. The addition of antibiotics decreased the rumen ammonia nitrogen concentration by 14%. The CO2 to CH4 ratio in the gas mixture was, however, not statistically modified, and no ionophore effect was observed on the protozoa mean population. Key words: Lasalocid, cationomycin, digestion, cell wall carbohydrates, sheep, rumen


1983 ◽  
Vol 100 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ben-Ghedalia ◽  
G. Shefet ◽  
Y. Dror

SUMMARYThe digestibility and rumen metabolism of diets containing as 50% of their organic matter (OM), cotton straw (CS) untreated, treated with sodium hydroxide and treated with ozone, were studied in sheep cannulated in the rumen and at the duodenum with simple cannulae. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen of sheep given the ozone and NaOH treatments was higher than in the untreated diet; however, the VFA profiles were not different. The rumen dehydrogenase activity, suggested to reflect general microbial activity, was higher by 83 and 81% in the ozone and NaOH treatments respectively, than in the untreated.Apparent digestibility of organic matter in the ozone-treated diet was 74·6%; 1·25 and 1·17 times higher than in the untreated and NaOH-treated diets respectively. The calculated values for organic matter and cell-wall digestibilities of the cotton straw in the complete diets were: 30·0, 20·0; 60·8, 60·0; and 39·6, 39·7%, respectively, for the untreated, ozone and NaOH-treated cotton straw. Nitrogen metabolism was not impaired by the presence of formic acid in the ozonated cotton straw; the apparent absorption of N from the intestine and the apparent digestibility of N were higher in the ozonetreated diet than in the untreated or NaOH-treated diet.The proportion of organic matter and cell walls digested in the rumen was higher in the NaOH and ozone treatments than in the untreated, and the possible reasons for that are discussed. A positive relationship was found between cell-wall digestion in the rumen (% of intake) and the rate of passage (% per h) of particulate matter from the rumen. The interpretation of this relationship is discussed in general and in view of the results of the present study.


HortScience ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 276B-276
Author(s):  
Supreetha Hegde ◽  
Niels Maness

The mechanism of softening was studied in a rapidly softening peach cultivar `Belle of Georgia' by assessing changes in pectins and hemicellulose from enzymically inactive cell walls. Cell wall preparations were sequentially extracted with imidazole and sodium carbonate (pectin extracts), and potassium hydroxide (hemicellulose extracts). The pectin extracts were particularly enriched in galacturonic acid, arabiiose and rhamnose, and contained only small amounts of hemicellulose associated sugars. Hemicellulose extracts were enriched in xylose, glucose, mannose, and fucose. More tightly bound hemicellulose fractions contained considerable amounts of pectin associated sugars. The proportion of pectin associated sugars in hemicellulose extracts was greater for cell wall extracts of softened fruit. Some possible relationships between pectin/hemicellulose solubility and fruit softening will be presented. Work was supported by USDA grant 90-34150-5022 and the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station.


Author(s):  
S. E. Keckler ◽  
D. M. Dabbs ◽  
N. Yao ◽  
I. A. Aksay

Cellular organic structures such as wood can be used as scaffolds for the synthesis of complex structures of organic/ceramic nanocomposites. The wood cell is a fiber-reinforced resin composite of cellulose fibers in a lignin matrix. A single cell wall, containing several layers of different fiber orientations and lignin content, is separated from its neighboring wall by the middle lamella, a lignin-rich region. In order to achieve total mineralization, deposition on and in the cell wall must be achieved. Geological fossilization of wood occurs as permineralization (filling the void spaces with mineral) and petrifaction (mineralizing the cell wall as the organic component decays) through infiltration of wood with inorganics after growth. Conversely, living plants can incorporate inorganics into their cells and in some cases into the cell walls during growth. In a recent study, we mimicked geological fossilization by infiltrating inorganic precursors into wood cells in order to enhance the properties of wood. In the current work, we use electron microscopy to examine the structure of silica formed in the cell walls after infiltration of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS).


2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-348
Author(s):  
P. Pepó ◽  
A. Kovács

Cryopreservation appears to be a suitable solution for the maintenance of potato germplasms. The protocol described in this paper can be applied for the vitrification and preservation of meristems. During histo-cytological studies it is possible to observe modifications at the cellular level and to understand the adaptive mechanism to low temperatures. Control potato meristem tissue contained a number of meristematic cells with a gradient of differentiation. After freezing there were a large number of vacuolated cells, some of which exhibited broken cell walls and plasmolysis. The thickening of the cell wall, giving them a sinuous appearance, was observed after freezing and thawing the meristems, with ruptures of the cuticle and epidermal layer.


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