Deposition patterns of cellulose microfibrils in flange wall ingrowths of transfer cells indicate clear parallels with those of secondary wall thickenings
Mark J. Talbot A B , Geoffrey Wasteneys C D , David W. McCurdy A E and Christina E. Offler AA School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia.
B Current address: Microscopy Unit, CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra, ACT 2000, Australia.
C Plant Cell Biology Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
D Current address: Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.
E Corresponding author. Email: david.mccurdy@newcastle.edu.au
F This paper originates from an International Symposium in Memory of Vincent R. Franceschi, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA, June 2006.
Functional Plant Biology 34(4) 307-313 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP06273
Submitted: 27 October 2006 Accepted: 13 March 2007 Published: 19 April 2007
Abstract
The arrangement of cellulose microfibrils and cortical microtubules in transfer cells depositing flange wall ingrowths have been determined with field emission scanning electron microscopy and immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. In xylem transfer cells of wheat (Triticum aestivum) stem nodes and transfer cells of corn (Zea mays) endosperm tissue, cellulose microfibrils were aligned in parallel bundles to form the linear wall ingrowths characteristic of flange ingrowth morphology. In both cell types, linear bundles of cellulose microfibrils were deposited over an underlying wall composed of randomly arranged microfibrils. Acid extraction of wheat xylem transfer cells established that flange ingrowths were composed of crystalline cellulose. Immunofluorescence labelling of microtubules in wheat xylem transfer cells showed that bundles of microtubules were positioned directly below and parallel with developing flange ingrowths, whereas more mature ingrowths were flanked by bundles of microtubules. These results show that the parallel organisation of cellulose microfibrils in flange wall ingrowths is similar to those in secondary wall thickenings in xylem elements, and that deposition of these structures in transfer cells is also likely to involve bundling of parallel arrays of microtubules. Our observations are discussed in terms of the possible role of microtubules in building flange-type wall ingrowths and the consequences in terms of predicted mechanisms required to build the fundamentally different reticulate-type wall ingrowths.
Additional keywords: cellulose microfibril, field emission scanning electron microscopy, microtubules, transfer cell, wall ingrowth.
Acknowledgements
The FESEM imaging of cellulose microfibrils was carried out as part of a collaborative Research Scholarship awarded to M. J. T., in partnership with the Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS), Australian National University. We thank the staff at the Electron Microscope Unit at RSBS for their kind assistance with FESEM imaging. This contribution is dedicated to Vincent Franceschi, a very special colleague and friend who shared with us and many others his love of plant structure and his unique microscopy skills. Thank you Vince for who you were and what you gave to the international community of plant scientists.
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