The arrangement and size of cellulose microfibril aggregates in the cell walls of sclerenchyma fibers and parenchyma tissue in bamboo

Abstract

Understanding the assembly and spatial arrangement of bamboo cell wall components is crucial for its optimal utilization. Bamboo cell walls consist of aggregates of cellulose microfibrils and matrix. In the present study, the size and arrangement of cellulose microfibril aggregates in the cell walls of sclerenchyma fibers and parenchyma cells in moso bamboo were investigated with NMR and FE-SEM. The NMR measurement showed that the char-acteristic sizes of the microfibril aggregates of fibers and parenchyma cells were approximately 25.8 nm and 18.8 nm, respectively. Furthermore, high-resolution SEM showed the size of microfibril aggregates varied little across the cell wall of sclerenchyma fiber. However, there were significant size differences between the broad and narrow lamellae both in fiber and parenchyma cells, which is thought to be closely related to the orientation of microfibrils in these layers. The microfibril aggregates in the fibers mainly appear in a random arrangement, although occasionally in a radial or tangential arrangement in individual cell. Parenchyma cells have a relatively thinner cell wall layers, in which microfibril aggregates appear in a concentric lamellar arrangement.