The supply of matrix containing glucomannans to the innermost surface of S2 layers is associated with changes in turgor pressure of differentiating tracheids in Cryptomeria japonica

We investigated the relationship between turgor pressure and diurnal differences in secondary wall formation of differentiating tracheids. Saplings of Cryptomeria japonica were grown in a growth chamber with 12-h light:12-h dark cycles, and the tangential strain on the inner bark surface was measured as an indicator of the volumetric changes of differentiating cells. The innermost surface of developing secondary walls was then observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy at 1-h intervals after both light and dark periods. Dramatic changes in the aspects of the innermost surface of developing secondary walls occurred 3h after the light was switched on and 4h after the light was switched off. The amorphous material containing glucomannans became evident when the differentiating cells became fully turgid during the dark period. Conversely, cellulose microfibrils became clearly visible when the cell volume was low during the light period. These results suggest that the diurnal periodicity in the supply of hemicellulose-containing matrix to developing secondary walls is associated with the changes in turgor pressure of differentiating tracheids that result from the change in light conditions during the photoperiodic cycle.     

The effect of day length on diurnal differences in the innermost surface of the S2 layer in differentiating tracheids

This article describes the effect of day length during the photoperiodic cycle on the diurnal differences in the innermost surface of developing secondary walls. Saplings of Cryptomeria japonica D. Don. were grown in growth chambers at constant temperature and relative humidity, but with different photoperiods. Samples of differentiating xylem were collected during the light and dark periods. The innermost surface of developing secondary walls in differentiating tracheids were observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy, and observations made during the light and dark periods were compared. In the saplings grown under long-day or short-day conditions, diurnal differences in aspects of the innermost surface of developing secondary walls were observed. Cellulose microfibrils were observed on the innermost surface of developing secondary walls during the light period when the volumes of differentiating cells were low, and amorphous material was observed during the dark period, when differentiating tracheids were turgid. The amorphous material was labeled with antiglucomannan antiserum. These results suggest that the range of day-length conditions set in this study does not affect the diurnal periodicity in the supply of cell wall components to the innermost surface of developing secondary walls.     

Temporal water deficit and wood formation in Cryptomeria japonica

Cell behavior in the cambium and developing xylem of 3-year-old Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don.) trees, during and after an 11-day suspension of irrigation, was analyzed. Leaf xylem pressure potential and tangential strain of the stem surface were monitored throughout the experiment. Anatomical features and numbers of developing tracheids and cambial cells were observed in four trees, sampled on Days 0, 4, 8 and 11 after irrigation was suspended. Daytime xylem pressure potential decreased to -1.9 MPa on Day 7 and remained the same until irrigation was resumed on Day 11. The transverse dimensions of the tracheids, which began to form secondary walls, began to decrease on Day 4. The number of cells in the cambial zone and cell expansion zone decreased abruptly on Day 8. Tangentially aligned developing tracheids with collapsed cell walls were observed in samples harvested on Days 8 and 11. Secondary wall formation was recognized in these tracheids. After the resumption of irrigation, xylem pressure potential recovered rapidly to the same value as before the suspension of irrigation. Tangential strain increased within 30 min after the resumption of irrigation, and continued to increase until the onset of light the next day. Eighteen days after the resumption of irrigation, anatomical features of cells in the cambium and cell-expansion zone were similar to those observed before suspension of irrigation.     

Fracture in Norway spruce wood treated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Physisporinus vitreus</Emphasis>

Changes in the fracture behaviour of Norway spruce tonewood after fungal treatment were studied. Specimens were incubated for 6, 9 and 12 months with Physisporinus (P.) vitreus. Fracture tests were performed in a compact-tension fracture experiment set-up, and the results were compared with the morphological analysis of the degraded wood structure and transverse sections of the crack tip viewed under light and fluorescence microscopy. It was evident that both the failure load and critical stress intensity factors were reduced in wood after prolonged incubation periods. Weight losses were significantly higher in sapwood than in heartwood. With prolonged incubation periods, the frequency of unstable fracture and brittle behaviour of the wood increased. In untreated wood, cracks were initiated in the earlywood. The process involved both delamination of the cells within the middle lamellae and rupture of the cell walls, inducing a zigzag crack tip pattern. In fungally treated wood, cracks often commenced from the intersection between late- and earlywood, resulting in a straight tangential crack line. Micrographic images showed that P. vitreus was more active in the secondary walls of latewood tracheids. In this region of the wood, the cell walls were strongly degraded after 9–12 months of incubation, resulting in a reduction in tensile strength, even though the wood did not show strong features of decay at the macroscopic level.     

Stem tangential strain on the tension wood side of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fagus crenata</Emphasis> saplings

The tangential strain on the inner bark surface of Fagus crenata sapling stems was continuously measured using strain gauges. The total strain increased daily, increasing at night and decreasing during the day. When tension wood was induced by artificial inclination, the strain increased more on the upper side than on the lower side; and the increment in the strain at night was larger on the upper side than on the lower. The change in tangential strain on the inner bark surface arose from changes in the water content and the volume of differentiating cells. Differentiating tension wood fibers appear to contain more water and to expand more at night than differentiating normal wood fibers. We can determine whether tension wood is formed from the tangential strain during growth.     

Arrangement of cortical microtubules in compression wood tracheids of Taxus cuspidata visualized by confocal laser microscopy

Cortical microtubules (MTs) in differentiating compression wood tracheids of Taxus cuspidata stems were visualized by confocal laser microscopy. They were oriented obliquely at an angle of about 45° to the tracheid axis during formation of the secondary wall. Artificial inclination altered the pattern of alignment of MTs. Banding MTs were helically oriented late during the formation of the secondary walls. These results indicate that MTs might control the orientation and localized deposition of cellulose microfibrils in the secondary walls of compression wood tracheids.Part of this report was presented at the 46th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kumamoto, April 1996     

Tangential pitting in black spruce tracheids

Tangential pit features were studied in a 55-year old black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) B.S.P.) tree by means of light and electron microscopy.It was found that tangential pitting is lacking from the greatest part of the growth ring, except for the last four tangential rows of latewood tracheids and the first row of early wood tracheids. The average number of pits per tangential wall of a 3.55-mm-long tracheid is 234, 144, 28, 4 and zero, respectively, in the last 5 tangential rows of latewood tracheids, starting at the growth-ring boundary.On the average, tangential pits measure 5.4 m in diameter, possess oval to elliptical apertures, and are randomly distributed uniformly over the tangential tracheid wall. All tangential intertracheid pits are bordered and in that respect are similar to those in the radial walls. Although most of the pits contain membranes with tori, some at the growth-ring boundary lack tori and exhibit randomly oriented microfibrillar structure.     

Early stages of bordered pit formation in radiata pine

Summary The development of bordered pit sites in the cambium of Pinus radiata D. Don was studied using light and electron microscopy. No primary pit fields occur in the fusiform initials and no plasmodesmatal connections were seen in radial walls of undifferentiated cambial cells or differentiating tracheids. Thin areas bounded by a thick rim appear in the radial walls of these cells once enlargement is under way. They appear to result from a redistribution of wall material which, it is suggested, is brought about by some agent which penetrates the primary wall. The thin areas, which are the sites of bordered pits, are common to the cells joined by the affected wall, and the rim which protrudes symmetrically into each cell provides a template on which the border is subsequently formed. This mechanism would explain how symmetrical pit pairs can be formed in the absence of plasmodesmata.     

Morphological changes in the cytoskeleton, nuclei, and vacuoles during cell death of short-lived ray tracheids in the conifer Pinus densiflora

Morphological changes in the cytoskeleton, nuclei, and vacuoles were monitored during the cell death of short-lived ray tracheids in the conifer Pinus densiflora. After formation of the dentate thickenings that occurred at the final stage of formation of cell walls, organelles started to disappear in differentiating ray tracheids. First, the microtubules and vacuoles disappeared. Then actin filaments disappeared in the differentiating ray tracheids adjacent to ray tracheids that lacked nuclei, and, finally, the nuclei disappeared. These features indicate that cell death in ray tracheids might differ from the programmed cell death of tracheary elements that has been studied in vitro in the Zinnia culture system. This study was presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, August 8–10, 2007, Hiroshima, Japan     

Anatomy and lignin distribution of reaction wood in two Magnolia species

Summary Anatomical features of reaction wood formed in two Magnolia species, M. obovata Thunb. and M. kobus DC. which are considered to be among the primitive angiosperms, were observed. In addition, the distribution of guaiacyl and syringyl units of lignins in the cell walls of normal and reaction wood was examined using ultraviolet (UV)- and visible light (VL)- microspectrophotometry coupled with the Wiesner and M?ule reactions. The two Magnolia species formed a tension-like reaction wood without possessing the typical gelatinous layer (G-layer) on the upper side of the inclined stem or branch, in which a radial growth promotion occurred. Compared with the normal wood, the reaction wood had the following anatomical features: (1) the secondary walls of fiber tracheids lacked the S₃ layer, (2) the innermost layer of fiber-tracheid walls showed a small microfibril angle, a fact being similar to the orientation of the microfibril angle of the G-layer in tension wood, and (3) the amounts of lignin decreased in the cell walls of fiber tracheids, especially with great decrease in proportion of guaiacyl units in lignins. In addition, VL-microspectrophotometry coupled with the Wiesner and M?ule reactions adopted in the present study showed potential to estimate the lignin contents in the cell walls and the proportion of guaiacyl and syringyl units in lignins. Received: 15 July 1998     

Seasonal changes in lignin distribution during tracheid development in Pinus radiata D. Don

Summary Lignin distribution in developing tracheids of Pinus radiata was studied throughout the growth' season using quantitative interference microscopy. The pattern of lignification remained constant although the number of lignifying cells varied reaching a maximum in summer. Lignification of the secondary wall of latewood tracheids was incomplete at the onset of winter. Each stage of lignification was preceded by deposition of carbohydrates with lignification of the middle lamella starting after S1 formation and lignification of the secondary wall starting after S3 formation. Lignification of the middle lamella was completed before the start of lignin deposition in the secondary wall. In one of the trees examined, the secondary wall lignified concurrently with the middle lamella and this was associated with a low lignin concentration in the middle lamella of mature cells. The secondary wall reached a mature lignin concentration of 21–22% v/v except in one specimen containing severe compression wood which reached 28% v/v. The cell corner middle lamella reached a mature lignin concentration of 74–87% v/v.     

Ray tracheids in Pinus radiata are more highly resistant to soft rot as compared to axial tracheids: relationship to lignin concentration

A visual decay assessment of Pinus radiata wood, which was part of a framing timber in a house in the North Island of New Zealand, indicated the presence of surface decay. Microscopic observations, employing confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), provided evidence of decay by cavity-forming soft rot (SR) fungi. A comparison of ray tracheids (RT) with axial tracheids (AT) indicated that RT were considerably more resistant to SR than AT. In the heavily degraded regions of wood, where axial tracheid walls contained abundant SR cavities, the walls of RT contained only a few or no cavities. An assessment of lignin concentration in the cell walls by a combination of TEM, confocal fluorescence and UV microscopy provided evidence of greater lignin concentration in the secondary wall of RT as compared to AT, which may explain the observed greater resistance of RT to soft rot. Dedicated to Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Walter Liese on the occasion of his 80th birthday.     

中国裸子植物木材管胞瘤状层的电镜观察

本文对中国裸子植物11科、41属、99种木材管胞瘤状层进行了系统观察。瘤状层的有无及形态特征是区分裸子植物材的重要标志。此外并对5种针叶树材在一个年轮内,瘤状层从早材到晚材大小、分布密度的变化做了观察;12种针叶树材的切片,用0.5％次氯酸钠溶液处理后,瘤状物减小、以至消失;在另6个树种的管胞内,观察到瘤状层被白腐菌或软腐菌溶解。     

针叶树木中矿质元素的分布

综述了矿质元素在针叶树干内的径向、轴向和细胞壁内的分布特点;影响矿质元素在树干内分布的主要因素。评述了以树木中矿质元素的分布特征进行树木分类的可行性,以及树干年轮间元素的变化值作为评价环境年代变迁指标的有效性。并对今后的研究方向提出了建议。     

Micromorphological characteristics of bamboo (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllostachys pubescens</Emphasis>) fibers degraded by a brown rot fungus (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gloeophyllum trabeum</Emphasis>)

The decay pattern in bamboo fibers caused by a brown rot fungus, Gloeophyllum trabeum, was examined by microscopy. The inner part of the polylaminate secondary wall was degraded, while the outer part of the secondary wall remained essentially intact. Degradation in bamboo fiber walls without direct contact with the fungal hyphae was similar to wood decay caused by brown rot fungi. Degradation in polylaminate walls was almost confined to the broad layers whereas the narrow layers appeared resistant. The p-hydroxylphenyl unit lignin in middle lamella, particularly in the cell corner regions, was also degraded. The degradation of lignin in bamboo fibers was evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The present work suggests that the decay of bamboo fiber walls by G. trabeum was influenced by lignin distribution in the fiber walls as well as the polylaminate structures.     

Surface deterioration of moso bamboo (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllostachys pubescens</Emphasis>) induced by exposure to artificial sunlight

The effect of ultraviolet-visible light irradiation on changes in surface chemistry and morphology of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel) was investigated. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and FT-Raman spectroscopy were used in combination to study chemical changes induced by exposure to artificial sunlight (xenon lamp) for up to 160 h, and the resulting physical changes of cell walls of bamboo surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FT-IR results showed that significant changes occurred in the lignin component as indicated by considerable decreases in the intensities of the characteristic aromatic lignin peak at 1512 cm⁻¹ and other associated bands. This was accompanied by formation of new carbonyl groups at 1735 cm⁻¹, resulting in photooxidation of bamboo surfaces. The photosensitive nature of bamboo lignin was also demonstrated by FT-Raman analysis, in which obvious decreases in intensities of Raman bands at 1604 and 1630 cm⁻¹ mainly derived from lignin and free and esterified p-coumaric and ferulic acids were observed. SEM micrographs of the irradiated cross sections of bamboo revealed that significant damage occurred to the fiber walls, whereas the parenchyma cells exhibited slight distortion and some cracks occurred in the cell walls. The structures of cell corners and middle lamellae were nearly intact after irradiation.     

Locating the initial in the vascular cambium of Pinus strobus L. by electron microscopy

Summary The results of this investigation by electron microscopy on the vascular cambium in Pinus strobus L. confirm the results of earlier investigations by light microscopy. First, they showed that differences in the thickness of tangential walls of cambial cells exist and that these differences permit grouping of cells according to the sequence of the previous divisions of the initial. This, in turn, permits the site of the initial cell in the cambial zone to be deducted. The thicker distal tangential wall of the initial in the successive series of tissue production allows for precluding the direction in which the initial function proceeds, toward the xylem or toward the phloem. Second, it was demonstrated that immature xylem cells exist in groups of four, that immature phloem cells exist in pairs, and that at all times more cells are produced toward the xylem than toward the phloem. Third, it was shown that the extra-thick tangential wall in immature xylem serves as a landmark to signal the changeover in the initial function from phloem to xylem production.     

Failure in timber part II: The angle of shear through the cell wall during longitudinal compression stressing

Summary The angle at which the slip plane traverses the wall of cells subjected to longitudinal compression has been studied in detail and appears to be a function of the angle of the microfibrils in the middle layer of the secondary wall together with the ratio of the modulus of elasticity in the longitudinal and radial planes. These parameters can adequately explain the observed variations in slip plane angle that occurred between species, between early and late wood, and at different temperatures. Significant differences were absent in the comparison of radial and tangential walls, normal and compression wood, and samples at different moisture content.     

纳米压痕技术测量管胞次生壁S2层的纵向弹性模量和硬度

重点研究和详细介绍了利用纳米压痕技术测试管胞次生壁S2 层纵向弹性模量以及硬度的实验技术 ,并测试了人工林杉木早晚材管胞S2 层的纵向弹性模量和硬度。结果表明 :杉木晚材管胞S2 层的平均纵向硬度为0 390GPa ,弹性模量的平均值为 1 4 84 4GPa ;早材管胞S2 层的硬度和模量则小于晚材 ,平均值分别为 0 30 6GPa和9 82 3GPa。     

Seasonal dynamics and impact factors of urban forest CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> concentration in Harbin,China

CO₂ concentrations in different plant communities (larch, birch, lilac, and grassland) were measured during the growing season in the Heilongjiang Forest Botanical Garden to study diurnal variation, seasonal and annual dynamics and factors that impact CO₂ concentration in different spaces. CO₂ concentration in different communities in green lands had an obvious diurnal variation, chronically decreasing, and temperature influenced the lilac area and the grassland. Seasonally, CO₂ was lowest in the larch green land (344.03 ± 23.03 μmol/mol) and highest in the grassland (360.13 ± 22.43 μmol/mol). The overall trend in CO₂ concentration was autumn > spring > summer; temperature is the main factor controlling variation in CO₂ concentrations during the growing season; the CO₂ concentration at the larch, birch, lilac, and grassland types of sites was negatively correlated with land surface temperature and air temperature, and the CO₂ concentration at the larch and birch sites was positively correlated with atmospheric pressure. Without any obvious annual change law, further study and observation are needed.