Middle Lamella (middle + lamella)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Plants, gall midges, and fungi: a three-component system

ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 1 2008
Odette Rohfritsch
Abstract Larvae of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) induce the activation of plant cells, partial cell lysis, and differentiation of nutritive tissue. Specialized nutritive tissue is essential for larval development and plays a key role in gall organization. Midges of the tribes Lasiopterini and Asphondyliini, however, do not induce nutritive tissues as part of the formation of their galls. Instead, these ,ambrosia galls' contain fungal mycelia that line the interior surface of the chambers. The fungi not only provide Lasiopterini with nutrition, they also penetrate the stems, induce the lysis of the middle lamella of host cells, and open a channel to the vascular bundles. Larvae of Lasioptera arundinis (Schiner) (Lasiopterini) follow the fungus and feed on its mycelium along with adjoining stem cells of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. (Poaceae). Eggs together with fungal conidia are deposited by the imago on the host. Asphondyliini use a needle-like ovipositor to introduce fungal conidia and eggs into the organs they attack. Larvae of Schizomyia galiorum Kieffer (Asphondyliini) are unable to initiate the gall or to develop in the flowers of Galium mollugo L. (Rubiaceae) without their fungal associate. In this article, I provide an overview of oviposition behaviour in the Asphondyliini, as well as descriptions of the ovipositor and the female post-abdominal segments. Gall formation by Lasiopterini and Asphondyliini and the role of associated fungi are discussed, as is the role of the fungus as an inquiline or an organizer of gall tissues and a nutritive device. [source]


Characterization of liquefied wood residues from different liquefaction conditions

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 6 2007
Hui Pan
Abstract The amount of wood residue is used as a measurement of the extent of wood liquefaction. Characterization of the residue from wood liquefaction provides a new approach to understand some fundamental aspects of the liquefaction reaction. Residues were characterized by wet chemical analyses, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Klason lignin content of the residues decreased, while the holocellulose and ,-cellulose contents increased as the phenol to wood ratio (P/W) increased. A peak at 1735 cm,1, which was attributed to the ester carbonyl group in xylan, disappeared in the FTIR spectra of the residues from liquefied wood under a sealed reaction system, indicating significantly different effects of atmospheric versus sealed liquefaction. The crystallinity index of the residues was higher than that of the untreated wood particles and slightly increased with an increase in the P/W ratio. The SEM images of the residues showed that the fiber bundles were reduced to small-sized bundles or even single fibers as the P/W ratio increased from 1/1 to 3/1, which indicated that the lignin in the middle lamella had been dissolved prior to the cellulose during liquefaction. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007 [source]


In vitro degradation of forage chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) by endopoly- galacturonase

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 15 2007
Xuezhao Sun
Abstract BACKGROUND: Leaves of forage chicory break down rapidly in the rumen despite little or no rumination. Because chicory cell walls contain high concentrations of pectin, degradation of leaf midrib and leaf lamina tissues by pectinolytic enzymes was investigated. RESULTS: Treatment with endopolygalacturonase (endo-PG) degraded fresh intact chicory leaves to particles of less than 1 mm in length and solubilised more than 70% of the dry matter within 16 h. Uronic acids were released more extensively than neutral monosaccharides. In similar treatments, 77% of white clover leaflets and 12% of perennial ryegrass leaf blades were solubilised or broken down to particles with a size of less than 1 mm. The degradation of pectic polysaccharides in chicory midribs was monitored by immunofluorescence labelling with monoclonal antibodies JIM5 and JIM7 which target partially methyl-esterified epitopes of the homogalacturonan (HG) domain of pectin. Examination by fluorescence microscopy revealed that cell separation in the cortical parenchyma of chicory midrib following endo-PG treatment was associated with loss of HG from the middle lamella, the corners of intercellular spaces and from the tricellular junctions. CONCLUSION: The results of the current study suggest that one of the main contributions to chicory breakdown in the rumen may be cell separation caused by degradation of HG by pectinolytic enzymes from rumen bacteria. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Examination of the dehiscence zone in soybean pods and isolation of a dehiscence-related endopolygalacturonase gene

PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 4 2002
L. C. Christiansen
Abstract Microscopic examination of cross sections of dorsal and ventral sutures of soybean pods (Glycine max cv. TGx1835-2E) at two different stages of maturity revealed that the dehiscence zone of soybean pods is functionally equivalent to the dehiscence zone known from crucifers. Enzymatic assays demonstrated the presence of endo-1,4- , -glucanases and endopolygalacturonases, the activity of which accumulated in the dehiscence zone and peaked during maturation. A single partial cDNA encoding an endopolygalacturonase was isolated by polymerase chain reaction and this clone was used to isolate the complete gene encoding the endopolygalacturonase in question. Approximately 1·2 kb of 5, upstream sequence was cloned in the plant transformation vector pCAMBIA1301 in front of the uidA (GUS) gene and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression analysis of the soybean endopolygalacturonase transcript revealed that the endopolygalacturonase is primarily found in dehiscence-related tissue and is presumably involved in the breakdown of the middle lamella prior to dehiscence. This result was corroborated by GUS stainings of the transgenic Arabidopsis lines [source]


Contribution of Cellular Structure to the Large and Small Deformation Rheological Behavior of Kiwifruit

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 6 2002
A.M. Rojas
ABSTRACT: The relative contribution of turgor pressure, cell wall and middle lamellae to the rheology of kiwifruit was studied by performing large deformation assays and using an empirical model proposed by our group. Results were compared with those obtained previously through dynamic testing. Initial (,0) and residual relaxation (,,) stresses determined under 14% constant deformation correlated significantly with complex moduli (G*) and they allowed to detect incipient plasmolysis but not to determine the individual contributions of cell wall and middle lamellae to tissue elasticity. Firmness (Fm) showed no correlation with G* because measurement of failure stress required tissue damage but it was affected by ripening allowing to determine the individual contributions of cell wall and middle lamellae to its value. [source]