Monomer composition of polysaccharides of seed cell walls and the taxonomy of the Vochysiaceae.

The distribution of polysaccharides from the seed cell walls of 57 samples of Vochysiaceae native to Brazil were studied, comprising 16 species distributed among the genera Callisthene, Qualea, Salvertia and Vochysia. The polysaccharides were extracted with hot water, then hydrolyzed with the resulting monomers analyzed by HPLC. All samples yielded arabinose, galactose, glucose. mannose and rhamnose, the relative amounts of each monomer, however, varying from one sample to another. Arabinose was always the predominant component, which implies that it might possibly be used as a marker of the Vochysiaceae. The quantitative distribution of monosaccharides was similar between the species of Qualea and Callisthene, characterized by the predominance of arabinose and mannose, and between the species of Salvertia and Vochysia, which contained higher amounts of arabinose and galactose. Such results are consistent with affinities inferred from floral morphology, wood anatomy and molecular data. Substantial intraspecific variation was observed for some species. UPGMA analysis based on the distribution of the monosaccharides reveals two main clusters, according to the links commented above. The resultant phenogram is not coherent with the current sectional classification of the Vochysiaceae, but the differences in the monosaccharides distribution between the two clusters are strongly supported by ANOVA.