The distribution of highly de-esterified homogalacturonans (HGs) in dividing protodermal cells of the monocotyledon Zea mays, the dicotyledon Vigna sinensis, and the fern Asplenium nidus was investigated in order to examine whether the cell wall region adjoining the preprophase band (PPB) is locally diversified. Application of immunofluorescence revealed that de-esterified HGs were accumulated selectively in the cell wall adjacent to the PPB in: (a) symmetrically dividing cells of stomatal rows of Z. mays, (b) the asymmetrically dividing protodermal cells of Z. mays, (c) the symmetrically dividing guard cell mother cells (GMCs) of Z. mays and V. sinensis, and (d) the symmetrically dividing protodermal cells of A. nidus. A common feature of the above cell types is that the cell division plane is defined by extrinsic cues. The presented data suggest that the PPB cortical zone-plasmalemma and the adjacent cell wall region function in a coordinated fashion in the determination/accomplishment of the cell division plane, behaving as a continuum. The de-esterified HGs, among other possible functions, might be involved in the perception and the transduction of the extrinsic cues determining cell division plane in the examined cells.
Keywords: 2F4; JIM5; de-esterified homogalacturonans; pectins; preprophase band; protodermal cells.