New method of observing plant cell wall

In order to better convert plants into biofuels, researchers from Lawrence Livermore laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S Department of energy cooperated to use different microscopic methods to go deep into the leaf cells of thymus, and study the chemical composition and plant fineness of the most common garden plants at the nanoscale Cell wall structure The study was published in the recently published journal plant physiology   Thyme is a kind of common annual herb, the stem of which is erect and thick, covered with short hair and rough surface The leaves are ovate to oblong in shape, with the entire leaf margin covered with short bristles Inflorescence simple branched terminal, peduncle very long The leaves of the seedlings are dark green, containing a large number of chloroplasts and rich single cells, which can grow in the medium for several days In the process of culture, the shape of cells will change, forming tubular cells, which are responsible for transporting water and minerals from roots to leaves The xylem contains a lot of cellulose and lignin, which is the research focus of biofuels in recent years   Cellulose is a kind of polysaccharide Under the action of enzyme, it can be decomposed into alcohols and other chemical components, which can replace fuel In order to make the related reactions efficient, we need to understand the process of reactions on multiple spatial scales In order to obtain sugar, we must find ways to overcome the hydrophobic protection provided by the crystallization of lignocellulose on cell wall There are two kinds of important polymers in plants, called lignocellulose, which are difficult to dissolve, resistant to chemical reagents and mechanical damage Lignin in cell walls is extremely difficult to break, so scientists need to have a thorough understanding of cell wall tissue to determine the best way to break them   In the past, the detailed three-dimensional molecular structure of plant cell wall was poorly understood This time, the researchers used different microscopic methods such as atomic force microscope, fluorescence microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectrum analyzer to study the cell, cell substructure and fine structure of cell wall tissue of thymus in detail, and even analyze the chemical composition of single cell It is very important to evaluate the chemical reactions and enzyme treatment of plants   Scientists say that the ability to observe the surface of plant cells at the nanoscale, combined with chemical composition analysis, can greatly improve people's understanding of cell wall molecular structure At the same time, high-resolution structural model is very important for the conversion of biomass into liquid fuel, which can accelerate the process of using lignocellulose to produce biofuels.