The pectin puzzle: Decoding the fine structure of rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) in Arabidopsis thaliana uncovers new pectin features

Zhang, Liang; Vlach, Jiri; Black, Ian M.; Archer-Hartmann, Stephanie; Heiss, Christian; Azadi, Parastoo; Urbanowicz, Breeanna R.

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2025.124161

Title: The pectin puzzle: Decoding the fine structure of rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) in Arabidopsis thaliana uncovers new pectin features

Journal Article · Sat Aug 02 00:00:00 UTC 2025 · Carbohydrate Polymers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2025.124161 · OSTI ID:3364452

Zhang, Liang ^[1]; Vlach, Jiri ^[1]; Black, Ian M. ^[1]; Archer-Hartmann, Stephanie ^[1]; Heiss, Christian ^[1]; Azadi, Parastoo ^[1]; Urbanowicz, Breeanna R. ^[1]

Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

Pectin is generally divided into four distinct structural categories, namely homogalacturonan, xylogalacturonan, rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) and rhamnogalacturonan II. While much of the structural diversity of homogalacturonan, xylogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan II has been elucidated, the structural features of RG-I are less well understood. In this work, we employed multiple complementary analytical techniques to present a detailed structural analysis of RG-I in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Starting with highly purified RG-I from different Arabidopsis tissues, we employed comparative linkage and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis along with mass spectrometry analysis of enzymatically digested RG-I oligosaccharides. Besides the presence of the canonical α-1,5-arabinan, β-1,4-galactan, β-1,6-galactan and arabinogalactan RG-I side chains of varying lengths, we show that a large portion of the β-1,6-galactan is terminated by either 4-O-methyl β-glucuronic acid (GlcA) residues or, to a smaller degree, β-GlcA that lacks the Me-ether group. Importantly, O-acetylation of RG-I GalA residues is a minor modification while 10 % of the backbone Rha residues are 3-O-acetylated, and most of the acetylated Rha is additionally branched with β-galactose substituents. Taken together, the combined results of these different analytical techniques present the most comprehensive structural overview of Arabidopsis thaliana RG-I to date.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0008472; SC0015662

OSTI ID:: 3364452

Journal Information:: Carbohydrate Polymers, Journal Name: Carbohydrate Polymers Vol. 368; ISSN 0144-8617

Publisher:: Applied Science DirectCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: The pectin puzzle: Decoding the fine structure of rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) in Arabidopsis thaliana uncovers new pectin features

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