pectins and silenan

Activities of polygalacturonase and 1,3-β-glucanase increased in campion (Silene vulgaris) callus cells during co-cultivation with the fungus Trichoderma harzianum. This was associated with a decrease in galacturonic acid residues in the pectic polysaccharide of campion silenan and also in the production of pectin by the callus. Co-cultivation of the callus and the fungus resulted in an increase in contents of arabinose residues in the intracellular arabinogalactan and in contents of galactose residues in the extracellular arabinogalactan.

Topics: Glucan 1,3-beta-Glucosidase; Pectins; Plant Proteins; Polygalacturonase; Silene; Trichoderma

Silenan, a pectin polysaccharide from common catchfly (Silene vulgaris), corrects disorders in the conduction of action potentials between cells of the sinoatrial area of frog heart forming a functional syncytium. Recovery of action potential conduction in the sinoatrial cells was recorded in long-term experiments (>8 h). The effect of silenan manifested mainly against the background of arrhythmic generation and impaired propagation of action potentials.

Topics: Action Potentials; Animals; Carbohydrate Sequence; Electrophysiology; In Vitro Techniques; Molecular Sequence Data; Myocardial Contraction; Pectins; Polysaccharides; Rana temporaria; Silene; Sinoatrial Node

A pectic polysaccharide named silenan, [alpha]D20 +148.6 degrees (c 0.1; H2O), was isolated earlier from the aerial part of campion, Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke. Silenan has been shown to contain homogalacturonan segments as "smooth regions" and rhamnogalacturonan fragments as "hairy regions". The present study reveals a generalization of structural features of silenan. Silenan was subjected to enzymic digestion with pectinase, to Smith degradation, and to lithium-degradation to determine the conforming poly- and oligosaccharide fragments of "hairy regions" of silenan. The NMR-spectral data and mass-spectrometry confirmed that the core of the ramified region of silenan consisted of residues of alpha-rhamnopyranose 2-O-glycosylated with the residues of alpha-1,4-D-galactopyranosyl uronic acid. The part of the alpha-rhamnopyranose residues of the backbone are branched at O-4. On the basis of the data, the hairy regions of silenan proved to contain mainly linear chains of beta-1,3-, beta-1,4-, and beta-1,6-galactopyranan and alpha-1,5-arabinofuranan. The side chains of the ramified region were shown to have branching points represented 2,3-, 3,6-, 4,6-di-O-substituted beta-galactopyranose residues.

Topics: Lithium; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Methylation; Pectins; Silene