scholarly journals Impact of Electroviscosity on the Hydraulic Conductance of the Bordered Pit Membrane: A Theoretical Investigation

2013 ◽  
Vol 163 (2) ◽  
pp. 999-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Santiago ◽  
V. Pagay ◽  
A. D. Stroock
2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 5201-5205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd A. Burnes ◽  
Robert A. Blanchette ◽  
Roberta L. Farrell

ABSTRACT Wood extractives, commonly referred to as pitch, cause major problems in the manufacturing of pulp and paper. Treatment of nonsterile southern yellow pine chips for 14 days withPseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas sp.,Xanthomonas campestris, and Serratia marcescens reduced wood extractives by as much as 40%. Control treatments receiving only water lost 11% of extractives due to the growth of naturally occurring microorganisms. Control treatments were visually discolored after the 14-day incubation, whereas bacterium-treated wood chips were free of dark staining. Investigations using P. fluorescens NRRL B21432 showed that all individual resin and fatty acid components of the pine wood extractives were substantially reduced. Micromorphological observations showed that bacteria were able to colonize resin canals, ray parenchyma cells, and tracheids. Tracheid pit membranes within bordered pit chambers were degraded after treatment with P. fluorescensNRRL B21432. P. fluorescens and the other bacteria tested appear to have the potential for biological processing to substantially reduce wood extractives in pine wood chips prior to the paper making process so that problems associated with pitch in pulp mills can be controlled.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Scoffoni ◽  
Grace John ◽  
Herve Cochard ◽  
Lawren Sack

Replacing ultra-pure water solution with ion solution closer to the composition of natural xylem sap increases stem hydraulic conductance by up to 58%, likely due to changes in electroviscosity in the pit membrane pores. This effect has been proposed to contribute to the control of plant hydraulic and stomatal conductance and potentially to influence on carbon balance during dehydration. However, this effect has never been directly tested for leaf xylem, which constitutes a major bottleneck in the whole plant. We tested for an ion-mediated increase in the hydraulic conductance of the leaf xylem (Kx) for seven species diverse in phylogeny and drought tolerance. Across species, no significant changes in Kx were observed between 0 and 15 mM KCl. We further tested for an effect of ion solution during measurements of Kx vulnerability to dehydration in Quercus agrifolia and found no significant impact. These results for leaf xylem contrast with the often strong ion effect reported for stems, and we suggest several hypotheses to account for the difference, relating to the structure of xylem conduits across vein orders, and the ultrastructure of leaf xylem pores. A negligible ion response in leaves would weaken xylem sap ion-mediated control of plant hydraulic conductance, facilitating modeling of whole plant hydraulic behavior and its influence on productivity.


IAWA Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland R. Dute ◽  
Lauren A. Bowen ◽  
Sarah Schier ◽  
Alexa G. Vevon ◽  
Troy L. Best ◽  
...  

Bordered pit pairs of Ephedra species were characterized using different types of microscopy. Pit membranes contained tori that did not stain for lignin. SEM and AFM views of the torus surface showed no plasmodesmatal openings, but branched, secondary plasmodesmata were occasionally noted using TEM in conjunction with ultrathin sections. The margo consisted of radial microfibrils as well as finer diameter tangential fibrils. The former formed fascicles of fibrils that merged into even thicker buttresses during the act of pit membrane aspiration. AFM showed a discontinuous layer of non-microfibrillar material on the surface of both torus and margo. It is hypothesized that this material is responsible for adhesion of the pit membrane to the surface of the pit border during the process of aspiration. Taken as a whole, intervascular pit membranes of Ephedra more closely resemble those of conifers than those of torus-bearing pit membranes of angiosperms.


Nature ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 198 (4883) ◽  
pp. 906-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
IRVING B. SACHS
Keyword(s):  

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (20) ◽  
pp. 2567-2588 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Ouellette

Gradations in the degree of pit membrane alteration in tissues infected by Ceratocystis ulmi (Buism.) C. Moreau and collected at various intervals after inoculation are described. Membranes of bordered pit pairs are coated and apparently impregnated with bands or masses of osmiophilic material; this coating may be thick and stratified and the pit cavities completely occluded. Similar osmiophilic material also occurs in decreasing amounts over and within membranes of simple or half-bordered pits and within the adjacent protective layer. Various degrees of distention and cavity formation in these pit membranes are associated with the osmiophilic material. Products released into vessels from disintegrating pit membranes seem to be sparse. Host cytoplasm in contiguous parenchyma cells can have diverse reactions.Examination of specimens at various angles established the interrelationship between osmiophilic material and remnants of pit membranes. Variously oriented lamellar-like structures and a fibrillar material intermixed with a more amorphous one characterize the osmiophilic material. The significance of these observations is discussed.


IAWA Journal ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland R. Dute ◽  
Ann E. Rushing

Bordered pit pairs connecting tracheary elements in the wood of Osmanthus americanus (L.) Benth. ' Hook. ex Gray contained a torus in the pit membrane. This structure is approximately 2.5 μm in diameter, and is located at or near the centre of the pit membrane. The encrusting material of the torus could be removed by treatment with sodium chlorite. Thin seetions through theJorus showed it to consist of a pad of wall material appressed to either side of the compound middle lamella. The membrane surrounding the torus (the margo) consisted of fibrils and a variable amount of enc10sing matrix. The fibrils were generally c1oseIy packed and randomly oriented, although occasionally a radial component was also present. Aspiration of the pit membrane in air-dried material caused the torus to seal off one of the pit apertures. During this process the torus probably prevented rupture of the pit membrane at that site.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1073-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Schulte ◽  
Arthur C. Gibson

Hydraulic conductance of tracheids was studied in either petioles or young stems of six species of seed plants having various types of intertracheid pitting. Measured conductances were compared with estimates based on Hagen–Poiseuille flow through ideal capillaries and with predictions from a biophysical model incorporating observed anatomical characteristics of tracheids and intertracheid pits. Conductance of the xylem, expressed as a percentage of the ideal capillary flow prediction, varied from an average of 88% for a species containing only very narrow tracheids to less than 35% for species with large-diameter tracheids. The biophysical model allowed fairly close predictions of conductance for all species except one, where an estimate of the pit membrane resistance could not be experimentally obtained. For individual tracheids, conductance was largely a function of lumen diameter, pit membrane resistivity, and the exposed area of the pit membranes, as determined by pit shape, size, and frequency. For wide tracheids, scalariform-pitted elements showed a linear increase in conductance with an increase in lumen diameter; however, for tracheids with large circular pits, the conductance increase afforded by a wider lumen declines as lumen diameter increases. These model simulations demonstrate the increasing significance of intertracheid pitting in obstructing flow as lumen diameter increases.


Author(s):  
I. B. Sachs ◽  
R. E. Kinney

The micrographs illustrating this paper were obtained from never-dried springwood bordered pit-pairs of Pinus strobus L. Specimens were treated with acidified sodium chlorite in order to remove incrusting materials from the pit membrane. To prevent or reduce interfacial and surface tension forces and provide a view of bordered pit structure without postmortem changes, the specimens were further treated either by the critical point method of Weatherwax and Caulfield, a version of Anderson's method, or by a low temperature evaporation method using molecular sieve material at -40° C. to gently remove the alcohol, Arenberg, et al. For studying the pit membrane of bordered pit-pairs, neither technique seems to have an advantage, giving similar results.Light and electron microscope studies have established that structurally the bordered pit-pair membrane consists of a torus and a margo.


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