Effect of Cytochalasin B, Lantrunculin B, Colchicine, Cycloheximid, Dimethyl Sulfoxide and Ion Channel Inhibitors on Biospeckle Activity in Apple Tissue

The biospeckle phenomenon is used for non-destructive monitoring the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, but in the case of plant tissues there is a lack of experimentally confirmed information about the biological origin of the biospeckle activity (BA). As a main sources of BA, processes associated with the movement inside the cell, such as cytoplasmic streaming, organelle movement and intra- and extracellular transport mechanisms, are considered. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of metabolism inhibitors, connected with intracellular movement such as cytochalasin B, lantrunculin B, colchicine, cycloheximid, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and mixture of ion channel inhibitors, injected into apples, on BA. Two methods of BA analysis based on cross-correlation coefficient and Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis (LASCA) were used. DMSO, lantrunculin B and mixture of ion channel inhibitors have a significant effect on BA, and approximately 74 % of BA of apple tissue is potentially caused by biological processes. Results indicate that the functioning of actin microfilaments and ion channels significantly affect BA.     

Raman imaging of changes in the polysaccharides distribution in the cell wall during apple fruit development and senescence

Planta - Du ring on-tree ripening, the pectin distribution changed from polydispersed in cell wall to cumulated in cell wall corners. During apple storage, the pectin distribution returned to...     

In silico studies of plant primary cell walls – structure and mechanics

Primary plant cell wall (PCW) is a highly organized network, its performance is dependent on cellulose, hemicellulose and pectic polysaccharides, their properties, interactions and assemblies. Their mutual relationships and functions in the cell wall can be better understood by means of conceptual models of their higher-order structures. Knowledge unified in the form of a conceptual model allows predictions to be made about the properties and behaviour of the system under study. Ongoing research in this field has resulted in a number of conceptual models of the cell wall. However, due to the currently limited research methods, the community of cell wall researchers have not reached a consensus favouring one model over another. Herein we present yet another research technique – numerical modelling – which is capable of resolving this issue. Even at the current stage of development of numerical techniques, due to their complexity, the in silico reconstruction of PCW remains a challenge for computational simulations. However, some difficulties have been overcome, thereby making it possible to produce advanced approximations of PCW structure and mechanics. This review summarizes the results concerning the simulation of polysaccharide interactions in PCW with regard to network fine structure, supramolecular properties and polysaccharide binding affinity. The in silico mechanical models presented herein incorporate certain physical and biomechanical aspects of cell wall architecture for the purposes of undertaking critical testing to bring about advances in our understanding of the mechanisms controlling cells and limiting cell wall expansion.