Assessment of cell wall porosity in Arabidopsis thaliana by NMR spectroscopy

The impact of homogalacturonans deficiency on the cell wall porosity of Arabidopsis thaliana QUA1 mutant was investigated using NMR measurements of protons mobility interpreted in terms of pore size variations at nanometer and micrometer scales. Isolation and purification of wild type and mutant stems and calli cell walls permitted to exacerbate the putative impact of the mutation on cellulose-hemicelluloses assembly in highly and poorly organised cell walls, respectively. NMR relaxation measurements of water and exchangeable biopolymer protons and self-diffusion processes of polyethylene glycol in walls informed about the porosity network density and heterogeneity. The role of pectins and proteins as well as the growth status of the cells on the wall porosity regulation are discussed. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.