FUNCTIONS OF CALCIUM IN THE CELL WALL OF RICE LEAVES

Rice plants were grown in nutrient solutions containing 0.5,20, and 500 ppm of calcium as CaO. Microscopic observation revealedthat the mesophyll structure in the leaves was disordered atthe lowest Ca level and became healthy with increasing supplyof calcium in the culture solution. The chemical constitutionof cell wall and the composition of sugar in each chemical constituentof wall differed little among the leaves grown with differentlevels of calcium. The calcium contents in the walls of calciumdeficient leaves were extremely low as compared with those ofnormal leaves. The amount of calcium extractable in the ligninfraction of Ca 0.5 leaves was only about one-sixth of that ofCa 500 leaves. Furthermore, calcium in the lignin fraction wasleached out by treating the wall previously with 2% acetic acidsolution. These results suggest a close association of calciumwith ligneous substances in combined forms of physiologicalimportance in the cell walls. (Received April 11, 1967; )