Skip Navigation


JXB Advance Access originally published online on November 16, 2006
Journal of Experimental Botany 2006 57(15):3989-4002; doi:10.1093/jxb/erl166
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
57/15/3989    most recent
erl166v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Proseus, T. E.
Right arrow Articles by Boyer, J. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Proseus, T. E.
Right arrow Articles by Boyer, J. S.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Proseus, T. E.
Right arrow Articles by Boyer, J. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author [2006]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

RESEARCH PAPER

Calcium pectate chemistry controls growth rate of Chara corallina

Timothy E. Proseus and John S. Boyer*

College of Marine Studies and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 700 Pilottown Road, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: boyer{at}cms.udel.edu

Pectin, a normal constituent of cell walls, caused growth rates to accelerate to the rates in living cells when supplied externally to isolated cell walls of Chara corallina. Because this activity was not reported previously, the activity was investigated. Turgor pressure (P) was maintained in isolated walls or living cells using a pressure probe in culture medium. Pectin from various sources was supplied to the medium. Ca and Mg were the dominant inorganic elements in the wall. EGTA or pectin in the culture medium extracted moderate amounts of wall Ca and essentially all the wall Mg, and wall growth accelerated. Removing the external EGTA or pectin and replacing with fresh medium returned growth to the original rate. A high concentration of Ca2+ quenched the accelerating activity of EGTA or pectin and caused gelling of the pectin, physically inhibiting wall growth. Low pH had little effect. After the Mg had been removed, Ca-pectate in the wall bore the longitudinal load imposed by P. Removal of this Ca caused the wall to burst. Live cells and isolated walls reacted similarly. It was concluded that Ca cross-links between neighbouring pectin molecules were strong wall bonds that controlled wall growth rates. The central role of Ca-pectate chemistry was illustrated by removing Ca cross-links with new pectin (wall ‘loosening’), replacing vacated cross-links with new Ca2+ (‘Ca2+-tightening’), or adding new cross-links with new Ca-pectate that gelled (‘gel tightening’). These findings establish a molecular model for growth that includes wall deposition and assembly for sustained growth activity.

Key words: Calcium, cell wall, Chara corallina, magnesium, pectin, turgor pressure, wall growth


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
D. S. Domozych, I. Sorensen, and W. G. T. Willats
The distribution of cell wall polymers during antheridium development and spermatogenesis in the Charophycean green alga, Chara corallina
Ann. Bot., November 1, 2009; 104(6): 1045 - 1056.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
D. Suslov, J.-P. Verbelen, and K. Vissenberg
Onion epidermis as a new model to study the control of growth anisotropy in higher plants
J. Exp. Bot., October 1, 2009; 60(14): 4175 - 4187.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
Q. Zhao, S. Yuan, X. Wang, Y. Zhang, H. Zhu, and C. Lu
Restoration of Mature Etiolated Cucumber Hypocotyl Cell Wall Susceptibility to Expansin by Pretreatment with Fungal Pectinases and EGTA in Vitro
Plant Physiology, August 1, 2008; 147(4): 1874 - 1885.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
A. Siedlecka, S. Wiklund, M.-A. Peronne, F. Micheli, J. Lesniewska, I. Sethson, U. Edlund, L. Richard, B. Sundberg, and E. J. Mellerowicz
Pectin Methyl Esterase Inhibits Intrusive and Symplastic Cell Growth in Developing Wood Cells of Populus
Plant Physiology, February 1, 2008; 146(2): 554 - 565.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
T. E. Proseus and J. S. Boyer
Tension required for pectate chemistry to control growth in Chara corallina
J. Exp. Bot., December 1, 2007; 58(15-16): 4283 - 4292.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Cell PhysiolHome page
E. K. Dunn, D. A. Shoue, X. Huang, R. E. Kline, A. L. MacKay, N. C. Carpita, I. E.P. Taylor, and D. F. Mandoli
Spectroscopic and Biochemical Analysis of Regions of the Cell Wall of the Unicellular 'Mannan Weed', Acetabularia acetabulum
Plant Cell Physiol., January 1, 2007; 48(1): 122 - 133.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.