Premium
Evidence for ‘silicon’ within the cell walls of suspension‐cultured rice cells
Author(s) -
He Congwu,
Wang Lijun,
Liu Jian,
Liu Xin,
Li Xiuli,
Ma Jie,
Lin Yongjun,
Xu Fangsen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.12401
Subject(s) - cell wall , plant cell , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , biophysics , silicon , matrix (chemical analysis) , oryza sativa , chemistry , cell , extracellular matrix , materials science , nanotechnology , microbiology and biotechnology , chemical engineering , biology , biochemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry , engineering , gene
Summary Despite the ubiquity and beneficial role of silicon (Si) in plant biology, structural and chemical mechanisms operating at the single‐cell level have not been extensively studied. To obtain insights regarding the effect of Si on individual cells, we cultivated suspended rice ( Oryza sativa ) cells in the absence and presence of Si and analyzed single cells using a combination of physical techniques including atomic force microscopy ( AFM ). Si is naturally present as a constituent of the cell walls, where it is firmly bound to the cell wall matrix rather than occurring within intra‐ or extracellular silica deposition, as determined by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ( ICP ‐ MS ) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy ( XPS ). This species of Si, linked with the cell wall matrix, improves the structural stability of cell walls during their expansion and subsequent cell division. Maintaining cell shape is thereby enhanced, which may be crucial for the function and survival of cells. This study provides further evidence that organosilicon is present in plant cell walls, which broadens our understanding of the chemical nature of ‘anomalous Si’ in plant biology.