Recent insights into the physical biology of plant cell walls are reviewed, summarizing the essential differences between primary and secondary cell walls and identifying crucial gaps in our knowledge of their structure and biomechanics. Unexpected parallels are identified between the mechanism of expansion of primary cell walls during growth and the mechanisms by which hydrated wood deforms un...

Phalaenopsis is an important ornamental pot plant for the global horticultural market. The inflorescences of hybrids require support from a stick during cultivation because weight multiple large flowers. Developing hybrid with sufficiently lignified inflorescence stem that does not additional could be way to reduce costs production. This study aimed (i) determine orientation and degree lignific...

Lignification of wood fibers has important consequences to the paper production, but its exact effects are not well understood. To correlate exact levels of lignin in wood fibers to their mechanical properties, lignin autofluorescence is imaged in wood fiber cross-sections. Highly lignified areas can be detected and related to the area of the whole cell wall. Presently these measurements are pe...

Mutanolysin biosynthesis and pigment production in Streptomyces globisporus ATCC 21553 were stimulated by adding bacterial cell walls to the medium. The increased bacteriolytic activity in the supernatant correlated with an increased de novo synthesis of mutanolysin and was between 4- and 20-fold higher than in cultures grown without bacterial cell walls. The increase in mutanolysin synthesis w...

Our purpose in this chapter is to provide an overview of the enzymology and associated molecular genetics of wood decay by white-rot fungi. These fungi are able to fragment the major structural polymers of wood and other lignocellulosics-lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses—and to further metabolize the fragments. The whiterot fungi and related litter-degrading fungi are perhaps nature’s major...

Cell walls isolated from competent streptococci (group H strain Challis) were shown to bind more homologous and heterologous deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) than noncompetent walls. Heat- and alkali-denatured DNA was not bound by either wall preparation. Pretreatment of cell walls with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide sharply increased the binding of DNA but did not increase transformation of whole c...

Protective potency of oil-treated cell walls of various mycobacteria against airborne infection of mice with a few cells of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was compared with that of viable BCG. Although less potent than BCG cell walls, the cell walls of atypical mycobacteria of Runyon's groups I to IV protected against challenge by aerosol to some degree. Protection afforded by cell walls of H...

Abstract Background Salix (willow) species represent an important source of bioenergy and offer great potential for producing biofuels. spp. like many hardwoods, produce tension wood (TW) characterized by special fibres (G-fibres) that a cellulose-rich lignin-free gelatinous (G) layer on the inner fibre cell wall. Presence increased amounts TW G-fibres represents cellulose. In present study, pr...