Modification of polysaccharides from callus culture of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Silene vulgaris</Emphasis> (M.) G. using carbohydrases <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

Polysaccharides (pectin and intracellular and extracellular arabinogalactans) were isolated from campion callus culture cultivated on medium with varied concentrations of pectinase and beta-galactosidase. A decrease in contents of arabinose residues in pectin and arabinogalactans and of galactose residues in arabinogalactans was associated with an increase in the activities of alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase and beta-galactosidase upon addition of pectinase into the medium. Pectinase destroyed the high-molecular-weight (more than 300 kD) fraction of pectin and decreased the content of galacturonic acid residues. alpha-L-Arabinofuranosidase transformed arabinogalactan into galactan, and galactan was destroyed under the influence of galactosidase. The contents of arabinogalactan and/or galactan in the cells were decreased, and it was released into the culture medium. Pectin samples with low contents of arabinose and galactose in the side chains and galactan samples were obtained from the callus grown on the medium with beta-galactosidase. Cultivation of the plant cells on medium containing carbohydrases resulted in modification of pectin and arabinogalactan of the cell walls.