Ion-Exchange Properties of Cell Walls Isolated from Lupine Roots

N. R. Meychik^* and I. P. Yermakov

Department of Plant Physiology, School of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119899 Russia; fax: (095) 939-4309; E-mail: meychik@mail.ru

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received October 23, 2000; Revision received December 18, 2000

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Acid-base properties of cell walls isolated from various root tissues of 7-day-old lupine seedlings and 14-day-old lupine plants grown in various media were studied. The ion-exchange capacity of root cell walls was estimated at various pH values (from 2 to 12) and constant ionic strength (10 mM). The parameters determining the qualitative and quantitative composition of cell wall ionogenic groups along the root length and in its radial direction were estimated using Gregor's model. This model fits the experimental data reasonably well. Four types of ionogenic groups were found in the cell walls: an amino group (pK_a ~ 3), two types of carboxylic groups (pK_a ~ 5 and 7.3, the first being the carboxylic group of galacturonic acid), and a phenolic group (pK_a ~ 10). The number of functional groups of each type was estimated, and the corresponding ionization constant values were calculated. It is shown that the chemical composition of the ionogenic groups was constant along the root length as well as in its radial direction and did not depend on either physiological state or root nutrition, while the number of different groups varied. The content of carboxylic groups of alpha-D-polygalacturonic acid in the root cell walls of 14-day-old plants was shown to depend on the distance from the root tip, being maximal in the zone of lateral roots. The number of these groups was 10- and 2-fold less in the central cylinder compared to that of cortex for 14-day-old plants and 7-day-old seedlings, respectively.

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KEY WORDS: lupine roots, ion uptake, cell wall, potentiometric titration, ionogenic groups, pK

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