Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1975 Jul;56(1):34–38. doi: 10.1104/pp.56.1.34

The Site of Cellulose Synthesis

Cell Surface and Intracellular β-1, 4-Glucan (Cellulose) Synthetase Activities in Relation to the Stage and Direction of Cell Growth 1

Gordon Shore a,2, Yves Raymond a, Gordon A Maclachlan a
PMCID: PMC541293  PMID: 16659253

Abstract

β-1, 4-Glucan (cellulose) synthetase activity (UDP-glucose: β-1, 4-glucan-glucosyl transferase) present at cell surfaces of growing regions of Pisum sativum epicotyl was assayed by supplying UDP-14C-glucose directly to thin slices of tissue. Initial rates of glucosyl transfer under these conditions approached the rates of cellulose deposition observed in vivo in intact tissue at various stages of growth. Normal tissue homogenization procedures destroyed the high surface activity, although a small amount of residual activity (3-10% of total) could be detected in particulate fractions. In homogenates from elongating tissue, the residual activity was almost entirely associated with Golgi membrane. In homogenates of tissue which had ceased elongating, whether because of normal maturation or treatment with ethylene (or high levels of auxin), the activity was present in Golgi plus a membrane fraction rich in smooth endoplasmic reticulum vesicles. It is suggested that cellulose synthetase activity associated with these two organelles represents intracellular enzyme in transit to specific sites of cellulose synthesis and microfibrillar orientation at the cell surface.

Full text

PDF
38

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abdul-Baki A. A., Ray P. M. Regulation by auxin of carbohydrate metabolism involved in cell wall synthesis by pea stem tissue. Plant Physiol. 1971 Apr;47(4):537–544. doi: 10.1104/pp.47.4.537. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BARBER H. A., ELBEIN A. D., HASSID W. Z. THE SYNTHESIS OF CELLULOSE BY ENZYME SYSTEMS FROM HIGHER PLANTS. J Biol Chem. 1964 Dec;239:4056–4061. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bowles D. J., Northcote D. H. The sites of synthesis and transport of extracellular polysaccharides in the root tissues of maize. Biochem J. 1972 Dec;130(4):1133–1145. doi: 10.1042/bj1301133. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burg S. P. Ethylene in plant growth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Feb;70(2):591–597. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.2.591. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Delmer D. P., Beasley C. A., Ordin L. Utilization of nucleoside diphosphate glucoses in developing cotton fibers. Plant Physiol. 1974 Feb;53(2):149–153. doi: 10.1104/pp.53.2.149. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Eisinger W. R., Burg S. P. Ethylene-induced Pea Internode Swelling: Its Relation to Ribonucleic Acid Metabolism, Wall Protein Synthesis, and Cell Wall Structure. Plant Physiol. 1972 Oct;50(4):510–517. doi: 10.1104/pp.50.4.510. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hassid W. Z. Biosynthesis of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides in plants. Science. 1969 Jul 11;165(3889):137–144. doi: 10.1126/science.165.3889.137. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ray P. M. Regulation of beta-Glucan Synthetase Activity by Auxin in Pea Stem Tissue: I. Kinetic Aspects. Plant Physiol. 1973 Apr;51(4):601–608. doi: 10.1104/pp.51.4.601. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ray P. M., Shininger T. L., Ray M. M. ISOLATION OF beta-GLUCAN SYNTHETASE PARTICLES FROM PLANT CELLS AND IDENTIFICATION WITH GOLGI MEMBRANES. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Oct;64(2):605–612. doi: 10.1073/pnas.64.2.605. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Roland J. C. The relationship between the plasmalemma and plant cell wall. Int Rev Cytol. 1973;36:45–92. doi: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)60215-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Shore G., Maclachlan G. A. Indoleacetic acid stimulates cellulose deposition and selectively enhances certain beta-glucan synthetase activities. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1973 Dec 5;329(2):271–282. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(73)90292-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shore G., Maclachlan G. A. The site of cellulose synthesis. Hormone treatment alters the intracellular location of alkali-insoluble beta-1,4-glucan (cellulose) synthetase activities. J Cell Biol. 1975 Mar;64(3):557–571. doi: 10.1083/jcb.64.3.557. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Spencer F. S., Shore G., Ziola B., Maclachlan G. A. Particulate glucan synthetase activity: generation and inactivation after treatments with indoleacetic acid and cycloheximide. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1972 Sep;152(1):311–317. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(72)90220-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Van Der Woude W. J., Lembi C. A., Morré D. J. beta-Glucan Synthetases of Plasma Membrane and Golgi Apparatus from Onion Stem. Plant Physiol. 1974 Sep;54(3):333–340. doi: 10.1104/pp.54.3.333. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wooding F. B. Radioautographic and chemical studies of incorporation into sycamore vascular tissue walls. J Cell Sci. 1968 Mar;3(1):71–80. doi: 10.1242/jcs.3.1.71. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES