1
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Cosgrove D, Dupree P, Gomez ED, Haigler CH, Kubicki JD, Zimmer J. How Many Glucan Chains Form Plant Cellulose Microfibrils? A Mini Review. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:6357-6366. [PMID: 39207939 PMCID: PMC11480985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2024] [Revised: 08/22/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Assessing the number of glucan chains in cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) is crucial for understanding their structure-property relationships and interactions within plant cell walls. This Review examines the conclusions and limitations of the major experimental techniques that have provided insights into this question. Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering data predominantly support an 18-chain model, although analysis is complicated by factors such as fibril coalescence and matrix polysaccharide associations. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy allows the estimation of the CMF width from the ratio of interior to surface glucose residues. However, there is uncertainty in the assignment of NMR spectral peaks to surface or interior chains. Freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy images show cellulose synthase complexes to be "rosettes" of six lobes each consistent with a trimer of cellulose synthase enzymes, consistent with the synthesis of 18 parallel glucan chains in the CMF. Nevertheless, the number of chains in CMFs remains to be conclusively demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel
J. Cosgrove
- Pennsylvania
State University, University
Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Paul Dupree
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, United Kingdom
| | - Enrique D. Gomez
- Pennsylvania
State University, University
Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Candace H. Haigler
- Crop
Sciences and Department of Botany, North
Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - James D. Kubicki
- Department
of Geological Sciences, UTEP University
of Texas El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, United States
| | - Jochen Zimmer
- Molecular
Physiology and Biological Physics, University
of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-1738, United States
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2
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Maloney T, Phiri J, Zitting A, Paajanen A, Penttilä P, Ceccherini S. Deaggregation of cellulose macrofibrils and its effect on bound water. Carbohydr Polym 2023; 319:121166. [PMID: 37567690 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine how to control and measure the hierarchical swelling in pulp fibers via electrostatic interactions and localized osmotic pressure. A eutectic solvent system was used to systematically increase phosphate groups in the cell wall. Increase in fiber charge led to an increase in swelling properties, as expected. At a charge value around 180-200 μmol/g the macrofibrils were found to deaggregate. This led to a large jump in mesoscale swelling, from 0.9 to 2.5 mL/g, and surface area, from 400 to 1000 m2/g. This deaggregation was confirmed with X-ray scattering and solute exclusion. A novel thermoporosimetry method was used in the study. This involved splitting the nonfreezing water into two subfractions, thus allowing a more complete analysis of pore structure and surface area. The hydrated surface area for the samples was in the range 1200-1400 m2/g, which agreed well with simulations of aggregated microfibrils. Adding charge to the pulp fibers had a nonlinear effect on handsheet strength properties. This suggests that hierarchical control of fiber swelling may be a useful approach to improve important property pairs such as strength/density in packaging and other commercially important fiber products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaddeus Maloney
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076 Aalto, Finland.
| | - Josphat Phiri
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - Aleksi Zitting
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - Antti Paajanen
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI02044 VTT Espoo, Finland
| | - Paavo Penttilä
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076 Aalto, Finland
| | - Sara Ceccherini
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076 Aalto, Finland
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3
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Koch SM, Pillon M, Keplinger T, Dreimol CH, Weinkötz S, Burgert I. Intercellular Matrix Infiltration Improves the Wet Strength of Delignified Wood Composites. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:31216-31224. [PMID: 35767702 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c04014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Delignified wood (DW) represents a promising bio-based fibrous material as a reinforcing component in high-performance composites. These cellulose composites possess excellent strength and stiffness in the dry state, which are significantly higher than for natural wood. However, in the wet state, a penetrating water layer enters the intercellular regions and disrupts the stress transfer mechanisms between cell fibers in fully DW. This water layer initially facilitates complex shaping of the material but imparts DW composites with very low wet stiffness and strength. Therefore, a sufficient stress transfer in the wet state necessitates a resin impregnation of these intercellular regions, establishing bonding mechanisms between adjacent fibers. Here, we utilize a water-based dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea thermosetting matrix (DMDHEU) and compare it with a non-water-based epoxy matrix. We infiltrate these resins into DW and investigate their spatial distribution by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and confocal Raman spectroscopy. The water-based resin impregnates the intercellular areas and generates an artificial compound middle lamella, while the epoxy infiltrates only the cell lumina of the dry DW. Tensile tests in the dry and wet states show that the DMDHEU matrix infiltration of the intercellular areas and the cell wall results in a higher tensile strength and stiffness compared to the epoxy resin. Here, the artificial compound middle lamella made of DMDHEU bonds adjacent fibers together and substantially increases the composites' wet strength. This study elucidates the importance of the interaction and spatial distribution of the resin system within the DW structure to improve mechanical properties, particularly in the wet state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Marie Koch
- Wood Materials Science, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- WoodTec Group, Cellulose & Wood Materials, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Manuel Pillon
- Wood Materials Science, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Keplinger
- Wood Materials Science, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Christopher Hubert Dreimol
- Wood Materials Science, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- WoodTec Group, Cellulose & Wood Materials, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Weinkötz
- BASF, Advanced Materials & Systems Research, BASF SE, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Ingo Burgert
- Wood Materials Science, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- WoodTec Group, Cellulose & Wood Materials, Empa, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
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4
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Nanostructural Changes Correlated to Decay Resistance of Chemically Modified Wood Fibers. FIBERS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/fib10050040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Reactive chemical modifications have been shown to impart decay resistance to wood. These modifications change hydroxyl availability, water uptake, surface energy, and the nanostructure of wood. Because fungal action occurs on the micro and nano scale, further investigation into the nanostructure may lead to better strategies to prevent fungal decay. The aim of this article is to introduce our findings using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to probe the effects of chemical modifications on the nanostructure of wood fibers. Southern pine wood fiber samples were chemically modified to various weight percentage gains (WPG) using propylene oxide (PO), butylene oxide (BO), or acetic anhydride (AA). After modification, the samples were water leached for two weeks to remove any unreacted reagents, homopolymers or by-products and then the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) was determined. Laboratory soil-block-decay evaluations against the brown rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum were performed to determine weight loss and decay resistance of the modifications. To assist in understanding the mechanism behind fungal decay resistance, SANS was used to study samples that were fully immersed in deuterium oxide (D2O). These measurements revealed that modifying the fibers led to differences in the swollen wood nanostructure compared to unmodified wood fibers. Moreover, the modifications led to differences in the nanoscale features observed in samples that were exposed to brown rot fungal attack compared to unmodified wood fibers and solid wood blocks modified with alkylene oxides.
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5
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Donaldson LA. Super-resolution imaging of Douglas fir xylem cell wall nanostructure using SRRF microscopy. PLANT METHODS 2022; 18:27. [PMID: 35246172 PMCID: PMC8897896 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-022-00865-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The nanostructure of plant cell walls is of significant biological and technological interest, but methods suited to imaging cell walls at the nanoscale while maintaining the natural water-saturated state are limited. Light microscopy allows imaging of wet cell walls but with spatial resolution limited to the micro-scale. Most super-resolution techniques require expensive hardware and/or special stains so are less applicable to some applications such as autofluorescence imaging of plant tissues. RESULTS A protocol was developed for super-resolution imaging of xylem cell walls using super-resolution radial fluctuations (SRRF) microscopy combined with confocal fluorescence imaging (CLSM). We compared lignin autofluorescence imaging with acriflavin or rhodamine B staining. The SRRF technique allows imaging of wet or dry tissue with moderate improvement in resolution for autofluorescence and acriflavin staining, and a large improvement for rhodamine B staining, achieving sub 100 nm resolution based on comparison with measurements from electron microscopy. Rhodamine B staining, which represents a convolution of lignin staining and cell wall accessibility, provided remarkable new details of cell wall structural features including both circumferential and radial lamellae demonstrating nanoscale variations in lignification and cell wall porosity within secondary cell walls. CONCLUSIONS SRRF microscopy can be combined with confocal fluorescence microscopy to provide nanoscale imaging of plant cell walls using conventional stains or autofluorescence in either the wet or dry state.
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6
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Czibula C, Brandberg A, Cordill MJ, Matković A, Glushko O, Czibula C, Kulachenko A, Teichert C, Hirn U. The transverse and longitudinal elastic constants of pulp fibers in paper sheets. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22411. [PMID: 34789767 PMCID: PMC8599457 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01515-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellulose fibers are a major industrial input, but due to their irregular shape and anisotropic material response, accurate material characterization is difficult. Single fiber tensile testing is the most popular way to estimate the material properties of individual fibers. However, such tests can only be performed along the axis of the fiber and are associated with problems of enforcing restraints. Alternative indirect approaches, such as micro-mechanical modeling, can help but yield results that are not fully decoupled from the model assumptions. Here, we compare these methods with nanoindentation as a method to extract elastic material constants of the individual fibers. We show that both the longitudinal and the transverse elastic modulus can be determined, additionally enabling the measurement of fiber properties in-situ inside a sheet of paper such that the entire industrial process history is captured. The obtained longitudinal modulus is comparable to traditional methods for larger indents but with a strongly increased scatter as the size of the indentation is decreased further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Czibula
- Institute of Physics, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Franz Josef Str. 18, 8700, Leoben, Austria
- Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Fiber Swelling and Paper Performance, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - August Brandberg
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Fiber Swelling and Paper Performance, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria.
- Solid Mechanics, Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 8D, 114 28, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Megan J Cordill
- Erich Schmid Institute for Materials Science, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Jahnstr. 12, 8700, Leoben, Austria
| | - Aleksandar Matković
- Institute of Physics, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Franz Josef Str. 18, 8700, Leoben, Austria
| | - Oleksandr Glushko
- Department Materials Science, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Jahnstr. 12, 8700, Leoben, Austria
| | - Chiara Czibula
- Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Artem Kulachenko
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Fiber Swelling and Paper Performance, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
- Solid Mechanics, Department of Engineering Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 8D, 114 28, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christian Teichert
- Institute of Physics, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Franz Josef Str. 18, 8700, Leoben, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Fiber Swelling and Paper Performance, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Ulrich Hirn
- Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Fiber Swelling and Paper Performance, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 23, 8010, Graz, Austria
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7
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Cresswell R, Dupree R, Brown SP, Pereira CS, Skaf MS, Sorieul M, Dupree P, Hill S. Importance of Water in Maintaining Softwood Secondary Cell Wall Nanostructure. Biomacromolecules 2021; 22:4669-4680. [PMID: 34669375 PMCID: PMC8579401 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.1c00937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Water is one of the
principal constituents by mass of living plant
cell walls. However, its role and interactions with secondary cell
wall polysaccharides and the impact of dehydration and subsequent
rehydration on the molecular architecture are still to be elucidated.
This work combines multidimensional solid-state 13C magic-angle-spinning
(MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with molecular dynamics modeling
to decipher the role of water in the molecular architecture of softwood
secondary cell walls. The proximities between all main polymers, their
molecular conformations, and interaction energies are compared in
never-dried, oven-dried, and rehydrated states. Water is shown to
play a critical role at the hemicellulose–cellulose interface.
After significant molecular shrinkage caused by dehydration, the original
molecular conformation is not fully recovered after rehydration. The
changes include xylan becoming more closely and irreversibly associated
with cellulose and some mannan becoming more mobile and changing conformation.
These irreversible nanostructural changes provide a basis for explaining
and improving the properties of wood-based materials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ray Dupree
- Physics Department, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
| | - Steven P Brown
- Physics Department, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K
| | - Caroline S Pereira
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Computing in Engineering and Sciences, University of Campinas─UNICAMP, Campinas 13084-862, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Munir S Skaf
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Computing in Engineering and Sciences, University of Campinas─UNICAMP, Campinas 13084-862, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Paul Dupree
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Cambridge CB2 1QW, U.K
| | - Stefan Hill
- Scion, 49 Sala Street, Rotorua 3010, New Zealand
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8
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Terrazas-Valencia F, Díaz-Ramírez M, Salgado-Cruz MDLP, Méndez-Méndez JV, Toledo-Madrid KI, Calderón-Domínguez G. A water adsorption study on wheat pericarp macrofibrils using atomic force microscopy. Micron 2021; 143:103010. [PMID: 33485096 DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2021.103010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Wheat pericarp, which is the most external layer of the wheat kernel, is composed of a polysaccharide matrix, where cellulose macrofibrils, hemicellulose, and lignin are their main components. These polysaccharides modified their structure due to the hydric condition to which they are subjected. This effect is considered as an advantage in the wheat milling process. However, no information about micro and nanostructural changes on wheat pericarp macrofibrils due to their hydric condition, studied by the AFM technique and image analysis, has been reported. On the other hand, cellulose macrofibrils have been extensively studied by AFM but performing the study at constant relative humidity (RH) level. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the water adsorption process on wheat pericarp macrofibrils using AFM and control the RH to which samples were subjected during examinations with a lab equipment specially developed for the AFM experiment. The RH was modified from 10 to 90 %, and peak force error images were acquired, from which macrofibrils' diameter, swelling behavior, and water adsorption isotherms were calculated, using image analysis tools. Also, as an application from the water adsorption isotherms, the specific surface area and the hygroscopic swelling coefficients were determined. Results showed that wheat pericarp macrofibrils presented an unusual swelling behavior, with the most notorious changes after reaching a moisture content in equilibrium to 40 % of RH. The average diameter of the macro-fibrils varied from 45 to 48 nm. The water vapor adsorption isotherm obtained from AFM micrographs image analysis did not resemble the sigmoidal IUPAC Type II, generally obtained by applying gravimetric methods. Results suggest that the macrofibrils swelling controls water accessibility to the internal macrofibrils structures. It was proved with this study the feasibility of using AFM and image analysis to build water vapor isotherms and other mass transport parameters based on the macrofibrils swelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Terrazas-Valencia
- Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Zacatenco, Av. Wilfrido Massieu 399, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía, Gustavo A. Madero C.P. 07738, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
| | - Mayra Díaz-Ramírez
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Alimentación, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Unidad Lerma, Av. de las Garzas No. 10, Col. El Panteón Lerma de Villada, Municipio de Lerma C.P. 52005, Estado de México, Mexico
| | - Ma de la Paz Salgado-Cruz
- Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Zacatenco, Av. Wilfrido Massieu 399, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía, Gustavo A. Madero C.P. 07738, Ciudad de México, Mexico; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), Av. Insurgentes Sur 1582, Col. Crédito Constructor, Alcaldía Benito Juárez C.P. 03940, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Juan Vicente Méndez-Méndez
- Centro de Nanociencias y Micro y Nanotecnologías, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. Luis Enrique Erro s/n, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía Gustavo A. Madero C.P. 07738, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Keren Ileana Toledo-Madrid
- Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Zacatenco, Av. Wilfrido Massieu 399, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía, Gustavo A. Madero C.P. 07738, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Georgina Calderón-Domínguez
- Departamento de Ingeniería Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Zacatenco, Av. Wilfrido Massieu 399, Col. Nueva Industrial Vallejo, Alcaldía, Gustavo A. Madero C.P. 07738, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
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9
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Crowe JD, Hao P, Pattathil S, Pan H, Ding SY, Hodge DB, Jensen JK. Xylan Is Critical for Proper Bundling and Alignment of Cellulose Microfibrils in Plant Secondary Cell Walls. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:737690. [PMID: 34630488 PMCID: PMC8495263 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.737690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Plant biomass represents an abundant and increasingly important natural resource and it mainly consists of a number of cell types that have undergone extensive secondary cell wall (SCW) formation. These cell types are abundant in the stems of Arabidopsis, a well-studied model system for hardwood, the wood of eudicot plants. The main constituents of hardwood include cellulose, lignin, and xylan, the latter in the form of glucuronoxylan (GX). The binding of GX to cellulose in the eudicot SCW represents one of the best-understood molecular interactions within plant cell walls. The evenly spaced acetylation and 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid (MeGlcA) substitutions of the xylan polymer backbone facilitates binding in a linear two-fold screw conformation to the hydrophilic side of cellulose and signifies a high level of molecular specificity. However, the wider implications of GX-cellulose interactions for cellulose network formation and SCW architecture have remained less explored. In this study, we seek to expand our knowledge on this by characterizing the cellulose microfibril organization in three well-characterized GX mutants. The selected mutants display a range of GX deficiency from mild to severe, with findings indicating even the weakest mutant having significant perturbations of the cellulose network, as visualized by both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We show by image analysis that microfibril width is increased by as much as three times in the severe mutants compared to the wild type and that the degree of directional dispersion of the fibrils is approximately doubled in all the three mutants. Further, we find that these changes correlate with both altered nanomechanical properties of the SCW, as observed by AFM, and with increases in enzymatic hydrolysis. Results from this study indicate the critical role that normal GX composition has on cellulose bundle formation and cellulose organization as a whole within the SCWs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D. Crowe
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Pengchao Hao
- Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Sivakumar Pattathil
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Henry Pan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Shi-You Ding
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - David B. Hodge
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Jacob Krüger Jensen
- Section for Plant Glycobiology, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- *Correspondence: Jacob Krüger Jensen
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10
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Penttilä PA, Altgen M, Awais M, Österberg M, Rautkari L, Schweins R. Bundling of cellulose microfibrils in native and polyethylene glycol-containing wood cell walls revealed by small-angle neutron scattering. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20844. [PMID: 33257738 PMCID: PMC7705696 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77755-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Wood and other plant-based resources provide abundant, renewable raw materials for a variety of applications. Nevertheless, their utilization would greatly benefit from more efficient and accurate methods to characterize the detailed nanoscale architecture of plant cell walls. Non-invasive techniques such as neutron and X-ray scattering hold a promise for elucidating the hierarchical cell wall structure and any changes in its morphology, but their use is hindered by challenges in interpreting the experimental data. We used small-angle neutron scattering in combination with contrast variation by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to identify the scattering contribution from cellulose microfibril bundles in native wood cell walls. Using this method, mean diameters for the microfibril bundles from 12 to 19 nm were determined, without the necessity of cutting, drying or freezing the cell wall. The packing distance of the individual microfibrils inside the bundles can be obtained from the same data. This finding opens up possibilities for further utilization of small-angle scattering in characterizing the plant cell wall nanostructure and its response to chemical, physical and biological modifications or even in situ treatments. Moreover, our results give new insights into the interaction between PEG and the wood nanostructure, which may be helpful for preservation of archaeological woods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paavo A Penttilä
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland.
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042, Grenoble, France.
| | - Michael Altgen
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Muhammad Awais
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Monika Österberg
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Lauri Rautkari
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Ralf Schweins
- Large-Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042, Grenoble, France
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11
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Gusenbauer C, Jakob DS, Xu XG, Vezenov DV, Cabane É, Konnerth J. Nanoscale Chemical Features of the Natural Fibrous Material Wood. Biomacromolecules 2020; 21:4244-4252. [PMID: 32852940 PMCID: PMC7556540 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Peak force infrared (PFIR) microscopy is a recently developed approach to acquire multiple chemical and physical material properties simultaneously and with nanometer resolution: topographical features, infrared (IR)-sensitive maps, adhesion, stiffness, and locally resolved IR spectra. This multifunctional mapping is enabled by the ability of an atomic force microscope tip in the peak force tapping mode to detect photothermal expansion of the sample. We report the use of the PFIR to characterize the chemical modification of bio-based native and intact wooden matrices, which has evolved into an increasingly active research field. The distribution of functional groups of wood cellulose aggregates, either in native or carboxylated states, was detected with a remarkable spatial resolution of 16 nm. Furthermore, mechanical and chemical maps of the distinct cell wall layers were obtained on polymerized wooden matrices to localize the exact position of the modified regions. These findings shall support the development and understanding of functionalized wood materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Gusenbauer
- Institute of Wood Technology and Renewable Materials, Department of Materials Sciences and Process Engineering, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Devon S Jakob
- Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Xiaoji G Xu
- Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Dmitri V Vezenov
- Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University, 6 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
| | - Étienne Cabane
- Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.,EMPA-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Uberlandstrasse 29, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Johannes Konnerth
- Institute of Wood Technology and Renewable Materials, Department of Materials Sciences and Process Engineering, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria
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Penttilä PA, Paajanen A, Ketoja JA. Combining scattering analysis and atomistic simulation of wood-water interactions. Carbohydr Polym 2020; 251:117064. [PMID: 33142616 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Molecular-scale interactions between water and cellulose microfibril bundles in plant cell walls are not fully understood, despite their crucial role for many applications of plant biomass. Recent advances in X-ray and neutron scattering analysis allow more accurate interpretation of experimental data from wood cell walls. At the same time, microfibril bundles including hemicelluloses and water can be modelled at atomistic resolution. Computing scattering patterns from atomistic models enables a new, complementary approach to decipher some of the most fundamental questions at this level of the hierarchical cell wall structure. This article introduces studies related to moisture behavior of wood with small/wide-angle X-ray/neutron scattering and atomistic simulations, recent attempts to combine these two approaches, and perspectives and open questions for future research using this powerful combination. Finally, we discuss the opportunities of the combined method in relation to applications of lignocellulosic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paavo A Penttilä
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland.
| | - Antti Paajanen
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
| | - Jukka A Ketoja
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
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