Cellulose: Biosynthesis and Structure (Heidelberger Lehrtexte Wirtschaftswissenschaften)

This monograph generalizes the mechanism of synthesis of cellulose and other cell wall polysaccharides in cotton and other plants. Sequence and cell localization of reactions of polysaccharide synthesis, dependence of its intensity on concentration of substrates, energy-rich phosphates, phytohormones, retardants, soil-climatic factors are the prime topics and conformational and morphological aspects of the structure of cellulose and its derivatives are discussed. Front Matter....Pages I-XII Introduction....Pages 1-5 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 Cell Wall Composition....Pages 9-31 Objects Useful for the Study of Synthesis of Cell Wall Polysaccharides....Pages 32-36 Sequence of Reactions of Biosynthesis of Cellulose and Other Structural Polysaccharides....Pages 37-50 Synthesis of Structural Polysaccharides: Localization of Reaction Sites....Pages 51-75 Dependence of Intensity of Cellulose Synthesis on Substrate Concentration....Pages 76-93 The Effect of Energy Conditions of Cells on the Biosynthesis of Cellulose....Pages 94-99 The Effect of Hormones on the Biosynthesis of Structural Polysaccharides....Pages 100-109 Effects of Cultivation Conditions on Cell Wall Regeneration by Isolated Protoplasts....Pages 110-121 The Effect of Climate and Soil Conditions on Cellulose Biosynthesis....Pages 122-126 Conclusion....Pages 127-128 Back Matter....Pages 129-137 Front Matter....Pages 139-139 General Notes and Definitions....Pages 141-144 The Constitution of Cellulose....Pages 145-148 Cellulose Configuration....Pages 149-155 Cellulose Conformation....Pages 156-173 Equilibrium and Kinetic Rigidity of the Cellulose Macromolecular Chain and Some of its Derivatives in Solution....Pages 174-209 Thermodynamic Properties of Cellulose and its Satellites....Pages 210-220 Theoretical Methods of Modeling of Conformational Properties of Cellulose and its Derivatives....Pages 221-269 Morphological Structure of Cellulose....Pages 270-287 Experimental Methods for Studying Equilibrium and Kinetic Rigidity of Polymers in Solution....Pages 288-301 Front Matter....Pages 139-139 Conclusion....Pages 302-303 References....Pages 304-310 Back Matter....Pages 311-322 Cellulose constitutes the most abundant organic material of the biosphere and is widely used in national economies. Despite the tremendous importance of cellulose, elucidation of the mechanism of its synthesis and formation of molecular and supermolecular structures has attracted much less attention than other biopolymers, viz. proteins and nucleic acids. Many textbooks and spe cialized monograhs on cellulose point to the scarcity of our knowledge of the mechanism of biosynthesis of this polymer. Reference may be made to METZ LER [1], the author of the three-volume edition 'Biochemistry. Chemical reac tions in Living Cell', who states, "In spite of the evident significance of the problem, det, ails of synthesis of cellulose and chitin, built of regular polymeric chains with ~-1,4-linkages, are practically unknown." At the same time, considerable experimental material has accumulated to date which allows us to work out a concept on regularities of alteration in cell wall composition, of main stages in biosynthesis of cellulose, of in-celliocaliza tion of the sites responsible for biosynthesis of various cell wall polysac charides. Certain regularities are revealed concerning the regulation of synthe sis of celluiose and other polysaccharides, orientation of cellulose microfibrils on the plasmalemma surface. Attempts are made to understand structural and functional peculiarities of cellulose-synthetase incorporated in the plasma lemma. Experiments are carried out with cellulose-synthetase preparations iso lated from cells. Some questions remain to be solved The monograph is written for specialists in plant physiology and biochemistry, structural chemistry of polymers, and for specialists in agriculture and in the paper und pulp industry. It is an indispensable source of information.