The metabolism of polysaccharides by pea stem segments treated with and without auxin was investigated using a centrifugation technique for removing solution from the free space of the cell wall. Glucose is the predominant sugar in both the ethanol-soluble and ethanol-insoluble fractions of the cell wall solution extracted with water. In the water-soluble, ethanol-insoluble polysaccharides, arabinose, xylose, galactose, and glucose make up 9.5, 23.8, 23.9, and 39.9%, respectively, of the neutral sugars, while rhamnose, fucose, and mannose are present at concentrations between 0.5 and 2.0%.Auxin treatment enhances the levels of xylose and glucose in ethanol-insoluble polysaccharides relative to controls, and this difference can be detected within 30 minutes of auxin treatment. Cellulose-binding experiments show that the enhanced levels of xylose and glucose are in a polymer having the cellulose-binding properties of xyloglucan. (3)H-glucose labeling experiments confirm the auxin-enhanced metabolism of the xyloglucan fraction; however, increased labeling of arabinose is also observed in auxin-treated sections. Auxin treatment also causes a marked increase in the level of uronic acids centrifuged from pea internode sections. Thus, after 3 hours of incubation in indoleacetic acid, the level of uronic acids in the ethanol-insoluble polysaccharides which can be recovered by centrifugation is increased 2- to 3-fold over sections incubated in water. These auxin-enhanced changes in xylose, glucose, and uronic acids are correlated with enhanced rates of section growth.Incubation of excised pea internode sections in acidic buffers also enhances the rate of xyloglucan and polyuronide metabolism. This acid-enhanced metabolism of xyloglucan and polyuronide is inhibited by low temperature, suggesting that it is enzyme-mediated.Extraction of the cell wall solution with CaCl(2) increases the yield of all neutral sugars. Arabinose and mannose are increased 4- and 3-fold, respectively, and xylose and glucose by about 20%, while galactose levels are 40% higher in cell wall solution extracted with CaCl(2) than in that extracted with water. Although calcium increases the amount of neutral sugars extracted, it does not affect the auxin-induced changes in neutral sugars. Extraction of the cell wall solution with ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'tetraacetic acid enhances the yield of uronic acids and also increases the difference due to auxin treatment.