Fourier-transform Infrared Microspectroscopy of Anatomically Different Cells of Flax (linum-usitatissimum) Stems During Development

FT-IR microspectroscopy was used to study the changes in cell wall structure in four anatomically different cells of flax (Linum usitatissimum) stems during growth. The cell types were xylem, fiber, epidermal, and gland, a specialized epidermal cell. FT-IR spectra suggested that xylem growth from 5 to 20 days was accompanied by the de-esterification of pectin and an increase in lignification. The principal feature in the spectra of the fiber cell walls was the predominance of cellulose absorbances at 7-20 days. Associated with these were acetyl absorbances which suggest the presence of acetylated glucomannan and/or xylan. The spectra of both the epidermal and gland cell walls contained suberin/cutin and protein absorbances. Epidermal development produced increased suberin/cutin deposition, while gland cell wall development was accompanied by protein accretion.