Skip Navigation



AOBPreview published online on March 6, 2006
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mcl049
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
97/6/1045    most recent
mcl049v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by SANO, Y.
Right arrow Articles by JANSEN, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by SANO, Y.
Right arrow Articles by JANSEN, S.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by SANO, Y.
Right arrow Articles by JANSEN, S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 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
Received September 20, 2005
Revised December 15, 2005
Accepted January 19, 2006

Article

Perforated Pit Membranes in Imperforate Tracheary Elements of Some Angiosperms

YUZOU SANO 1 * and STEVEN JANSEN 2

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

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
YUZOU SANO, E-mail: pirika{at}for.agr.hokudai.ac.jp


  Abstract

• 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.

Keywords: Wood anatomy, angiosperms, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, pit, pit membrane, fibre, tracheid.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.