Cellulosic Fibers: Role of Matrix Polysaccharides in Structure and Function

Cellulose, being the major cell wall component and the most abundant organic matter, produced by living organisms, is not uniformly distributed within plant tissues. There are numerous cells, like the parenchyma ones, which even at maturity have thin cell wall. Thick cell walls are characteristic for the tissues with mechanical function. Among those, there are cell walls, which contain several major components, and those, the predominant component of which is cellulose. The most pure natural cellulose is considered to be present in cotton seed hairs (sometimes erroneously called “cotton fibers”) – over 90% of cell wall [1]. Very close to this value is a special group of plant fibers – cellulosic or gelatinous fibers, the proportion of cellulose in which amounts for 85-90% [2,3]. The cell wall thickness in such fibers may reach 15 m, as compared to 0.2 m in cells with thin cell wall. So, the very significant portion of total plant cellulose may be concentrated within the gelatinous fibers, making them the important source for production of biofuels and bio-based products. An additional attractiveness of cellulosic fibers for such applications comes from the fact that gelatinous cell wall layers are devoid of lignin – the major hurdle in using plant biomass [1].