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AOBPreview originally published online on March 6, 2006
Annals of Botany 2006 97(6):1045-1053; doi:10.1093/aob/mcl049
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Perforated Pit Membranes in Imperforate Tracheary Elements of Some Angiosperms

YUZOU SANO1,* and STEVEN JANSEN2

1 Laboratory of Wood Biology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan and 2 Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3DS, UK

* For correspondence. E-mail pirika{at}for.agr.hokudai.ac.jp

Received: 20 September 2005    Returned for revision: 15 December 2005    Accepted: 19 January 2006    Published electronically: 6 March 2006

• Background and Aims The structure of pit membranes in angiosperms has not been fully examined and our understanding about the structure is incomplete. Therefore, this study aims to illustrate the micromorphology of pit membranes in fibres and tracheids of woody species from various families.

• Methods Specimens from ten species from ten genera and eight families were prepared using two techniques and examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy.

• Key Results Interfibre pit membranes with an average diameter of <4 µm were frequently perforated or appeared to be very porous. In contrast, pit membranes in imperforate tracheary elements with distinctly bordered pits and an average diameter of ≥4 µm were homogeneous and densely packed with microfibrils. These differences were observed consistently not only among species but also within a single species in which different types of imperforate tracheary elements were present.

• Conclusions This study demonstrates that the structure of interfibre pit membranes differs among cell types and the differences are closely associated with the specialization of the fibre cells. It is suggested that perforated pit membranes between specialized fibres contribute to the dehydration of the fibre cells at or soon after maturation.

Key words: Wood anatomy, angiosperms, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, pit, pit membrane, fibre, tracheid


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