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This study provides insight into the thermal degradation of cotton cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) by tuning their physico-chemical properties through acid hydrolysis using blends of phosphoric and sulfuric acid. CNCs isolated by sulfuric acid hydrolysis are known to degrade at lower temperatures than CNCs hydrolyzed with phosphoric acid; however, the reason for this change is unclear. Although all CNCs are inherently relatively thermally stable, their application in polymer composites and liquid formulations designed to function at high temperatures could be extended if thermal stability was improved. Herein, thermogravimetric analysis was carried out on six types of CNCs (in both acid and sodium form) with different surface chemistry, surface charge density, dimensions, crystallinity and degree of polymerization (DP) to identify the key properties that influence thermal stability of nanocellulose. In acid form, CNC surface charge density was found to be the determining factor in thermal stability due to de-esterification and acid-catalyzed degradation. Conversely, in sodium form, surface chemistry and charge density had a negligible effect on the onset of thermal degradation, however, the DP of the cellulose polymer chains highly influenced stability. The presence of more reducing ends in lower DP nanocrystals is inferred to facilitate thermally-induced depolymerization and degradation. Degree of crystallinity did not significantly affect CNC thermal stability. Studying CNCs produced from single or blends of acids (and changing the counterion) elucidated the thermal behavior of cellulose and furthermore demonstrated new routes to tailor CNCs thermal and colloidal stability. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]., QC 20190405

N-acetylglucosamine-based saccharides (chitosaccharides) are components of microbial cell walls and act as molecular signals during host-microbe interactions. In the legume plant Medicago truncatula, the perception of lipochitooligosaccharide signals produced by symbiotic rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi involves the Nod Factor Perception (NFP) lysin motif receptor-like protein and leads to the activation of the so-called common symbiotic pathway. In rice and Arabidopsis, lysin motif receptors are involved in the perception of chitooligosaccharides released by pathogenic fungi, resulting in the activation of plant immunity. Here we report the structural characterization of atypical chitosaccharides from the oomycete pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches, and their biological activity on the host Medicago truncatula. Using a combination of biochemical and biophysical approaches, we show that these chitosaccharides are linked to β-1,6-glucans, and contain a β-(1,3;1,4)-glucan backbone whose β-1,3-linked glucose units are substituted on their C-6 carbon by either glucose or N-acetylglucosamine residues. This is the first description of this type of structural motif in eukaryotic cell walls. Glucan-chitosaccharide fractions of A. euteiches induced the expression of defense marker genes in Medicago truncatula seedlings independently from the presence of a functional Nod Factor Perception protein. Furthermore, one of the glucan-chitosaccharide fractions elicited calcium oscillations in the nucleus of root cells. In contrast to the asymmetric oscillatory calcium spiking induced by symbiotic lipochitooligosaccharides, this response depends neither on the Nod Factor Perception protein nor on the common symbiotic pathway. These findings open new perspectives in oomycete cell wall biology and elicitor recognition and signaling in legumes., QC 20131030

A series of samples having the mannan II character were prepared by either (i) desincrusting stems of Acetabularia crenulata, or (ii) acetylating these stems, followed by dissolution and recrystallization under deacetylation conditions, or (iii) recrystallizing at low temperature the alkali soluble fraction of ivory nut mannan. The samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray and electron diffraction analysis together with 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy. Whereas the A. crenulata stems consisted of a mixture of mannan I and marman II, the recrystallized samples were all of the hydrated mannan II family and occurred in a ribbonlike morphology where the mannan chains were organized with their molecular axis perpendicular to the ribbon long axis. The recrystallized ivory nut mannan samples presented X-ray and electron diffraction diagrams, together with 13C solid-state NMR spectra recorded at 95% RH, different from those of recrystallized A. crenulata recorded under the same RH conditions. They corresponded therefore to a new allomorph of the mannan II family. Despite this difference, when the recrystallized samples were in an aqueous environment, they revealed an additional well-defined perhydrated phase, which showed the same 13C solid-state NMR spectrum for both samples. As this phase, which gave 6-band NMR spectra with narrow line-width and low T1, had no counterpart in X-ray diffraction, it was attributed to specific amorphous segments of mannan chains, gaining some mobility when swollen in water. When the samples were totally dried, their NMR spectra lost their resolution, thus indicating the role played by water for the structural organization of the crystalline and amorphous components of mannan II.

A simple and sensitive method for the characterization of products synthesized in vitro by polysaccharide synthases is described. it relies on the use of C-13-enriched nucleotide sugars as substrates and on the analysis of the newly synthesized polysaccharides by C-13-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The method was validated with a (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan synthase from blackberry, but it may be applied to the study of any glycosyltransferase. The chemical synthesis of UDP-D-[U-C-13]glucose was achieved in a classical procedure with an overall yield of 50%. A uniformly labeled (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan was synthesized from this substrate, using detergent extracts of blackberry cell membranes as a source of synthase. One hundred micrograms of product was sufficient for liquid and solid-state C-13-NMR spectroscopy analyses. The method is at least 100 times more sensitive than in the case of non-enriched polysaccharides. It allows the unequivocal identification and direct structural characterization of the products synthesized in vitro, as opposed to conventional methods that rely on the use of radioactive substrates and enzymatic hydrolysis of the polysaccharides with specific glycoside hydrolases. The method proves that the glycan analyzed was synthesized de novo because the final product is enriched in C-13. Information on the 3D organization of the polymer may also be obtained by solid-state NMR spectroscopy., QC 20100525

Detergent extracts of microsomal fractions from Saprolegnia monoica and blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) cells were incubated with UDP-glucose to yield in vitro (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans. The insoluble products were analyzed by conventional and cryo transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and C-13 CP/MAS NMR, and their molecular weights were determined by light scattering experiments. All the products were microfibrillar, but for the detergent extracts from S. monoica, important morphological differences were observed when the pH of the synthesizing medium was modified. At pH 6, the product had a weight average degree of polymerization ((DPw) over bar) exceeding 20 000 and consisted of endless ribbon-like microfibrils. The microfibrils obtained at pH 9 had a length of only 200-300 nm, and their (DPw) over bar was similar to5000. Of all the in vitro (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans, the one from R. fruticosus had the shortest length and the smallest (DPw) over bar. Crystallographic and spectroscopic data showed that the three in vitro samples consisted of triple helices of (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans and contained substantial amounts of water molecules in their structure, the shortest microfibrils being more hydrated. In addition, the long microfibrils from S. monoica synthesized at pH 6 were more resistant toward the action of an endo-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucanase than the shorter ones obtained at pH 9. These results are discussed in terms of molecular biosynthetic mechanisms of fungal and plant (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans, and in relation with the possible existence of several (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan synthases in a given organism. The interpretation and discussion of these observations integrate the current knowledge of the structure and function of (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans., QC 20100525