Direct observation of cell wall structure in living plant tissues by solid-state C NMR spectroscopy.

Solid-state (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of the following intact plant tissues were recorded by the crosspolarization magic-angle spinning technique: celery (Apium graveolens L.) collenchyma; carob bean (Ceratonia siliqua L.), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), and nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) endosperm; and lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.) seed cotyledons. All these tissues had thickened cell walls which allowed them to withstand the centrifugal forces of magic angle spinning and which, except in the case of lupin seeds, dominated the NMR spectra. The celery collenchyma cell walls gave spectra typical of dicot primary cell walls. The carob bean and fenugreek seed spectra were dominated by resonances from galactomannans, which showed little sign of crystalline order. Resonances from beta(1,4')-d galactan were visible in the lupin seed spectrum, but there was much interference from protein. The nasturtium seed spectrum was largely derived from a xyloglucan, in which the conformation of the glucan core chain appeared to be intermediate between the solution form and solid forms of cellulose.