Purification and structure of xyloglucan in pine hypocotyls.

Xyloglucan was purified from water-soluble hemicelluloses extracted with 24% KOH from pine cell walls using ion-exchange chromatography and iodine precipitation. Linkage analysis showed that pine xyloglucan was highly substituted with 80% of the glucosyl residues substituted at position 6. The presence of terminal-fucosyl residues in pine xyloglucan confirm that the primary cell walls of gymnosperms are more closely related to those of dicots than to graminaceous monocot cell walls.