Investigation of mannan in the primary cell wall of Arabidopsis thaliana using solid-state NMR

Investigation of mannan in the primary cell wall of Arabidopsis thaliana using solid-state NMR

Physics of Plant Biology

Maria Gonsalves

Mannan is a polymer of simple sugar units which forms a major part of the primary cell walls of most plants, but its structure can vary drastically across plant species of different evolutionary stages with no well-understood reason. Samples of a model plant (Arabidopsis thaliana ) with different modifications to the genes which control its mannan will be studied and compared. This should provide some insight into the role mannan plays in the cell. Solid-state NMR, which uses the behaviour of atomic nuclei in a magnetic field to reveal structural information about a sample, is the only non-destructive technique that can provide sufficiently detailed information on the sample cells. 1D and 2D NMR spectra will be acquired, with the spectral shifts being referenced against the CCMRD database. The spectra acquired will reveal the proximity and interactions between plant cell wall components. Future research could solidify the findings through repetition of the study on softwoods as opposed to flowering plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana .

ssNMR, Mannan, Non-Destructive Testing, Cell Wall Architecture